Massachusetts Moves Forward with Advanced Clean Cars II Program, Formally Adopting Policy to Slash Transportation Pollution & Provide More EV Choices to Consumers

(Sierra Club) Today (March 30, 2023), Massachusetts announced its formal adoption of the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC) rule, which requires auto manufacturers to ensure that every new light-duty car sold in the state is a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) by 2035. This is in line with the requirement for all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold in Massachusetts to be zero-emission starting in 2035 that was signed into law in the 2022 climate bill, An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind.

Several states in the Northeast have formally adopted or are in the process of adopting the rule, including Connecticut, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.

A Sierra Club analysis using EV-REDI, a transportation analysis tool developed by Synapse Energy Economics, shows in preliminary results that adopting the ACC II program would result in the following benefits in Massachusetts:

Light-duty vehicle NOx emissions in 2035 would be 73 percent below 2021 levels (from 11.7 thousand MT to 3.1 thousand MT)
Light-duty vehicle tailpipe PM2.5 emissions in 2035 would be 56 percent below 2021 levels (from 332 MT to 146 MT)
Light-duty vehicle SO2 emission in 2035 would be 60 percent below 2021 levels (from 145 MT to 58 MT)

QUOTES FROM SUPPORTERS:

"Too often, conversations about the transition to clean vehicles ignore the very communities most hurt by the air pollution that makes this transition necessary. We are heartened that this rule includes incentives for manufacturers to make zero-emissions vehicles more affordable and accessible to environmental justice populations," said Mary Claire Kelly, Environmental and Climate Justice Attorney, Alternatives for Community and Environment. "However, passing this regulation is only the first step towards making this transition more just. We call on the Commonwealth to do its due diligence to implement the environmental justice provisions of this rule, in particular by creating and identifying community based programs that qualify for environmental justice credits so that the benefits of this regulation reach those who need it the most."

“We are pleased to see Massachusetts adopt the Advanced Clean Cars II program that will yield benefits for our air quality and public health while increasing consumer choice and access to zero-emission vehicles,” said Veena Dharmaraj, Director of Transportation at the Sierra Club Massachusetts Chapter. “The Commonwealth should now act swiftly to develop complementary policies and identify programs that will help direct these benefits to communities historically overburdened with transportation pollution.”

"The Commonwealth took an important step today by formally adopting these clean car rules -- demonstrating once again what climate and clean air leadership looks like in the Northeast,” said Paulina Muratore, Transportation Campaign Manager, Union of Concerned Scientists. “The transportation sector remains the largest source of heat-trapping climate emissions in Massachusetts, and a major contributor to inequitable exposure to harmful air pollution. Together with additional policies, these new rules help pave the road to zero tailpipe emissions."

“We are glad to see that Massachusetts adopted the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) standards today,” said Anna Vanderspek, Electric Vehicle Program Director, Green Energy Consumers Alliance. “These standards are a critical tool in the toolbox to fight climate change, protect public health, and make sure that Massachusetts drivers have access to the full range of vehicle model choice. Simply put, without ACC II, Massachusetts could not meet its 2030 or 2050 greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements. Especially in light of the recent IPCC report and the clear need to speed up emissions reductions, we are glad to see the Commonwealth take this important step.”

"Ceres applauds the finalization of the Advanced Clean Cars II rule in Massachusetts,” said Alli Gold-Roberts, Senior Director of State Policy, Ceres. “This policy provides Massachusetts businesses and investors with certainty and predictability by establishing clear rules of the road to ensure consumers and companies will be able to access the vehicles they are increasingly demanding. It is also critical to ensuring Massachusetts meets its 2030 and 2050 climate targets, further establishing the state as a smart place to invest amid the clean energy and clean transportation transition."

Excerpt from Inside Climate News: 5.1 million Marylanders live in areas that are failing to meet EPA’s ground-level ozone standards and suffering adverse health impacts, including higher levels of asthma.

The call to act came with the Wednesday release of two new studies by the Sierra Club Maryland Chapter and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Both studies simulated effects of vehicular emissions on Maryland residents and the environment, and the cumulative impact on minority communities, and argued that moving to electrify on-road transportation quicker would benefit the state, the environment and Marylanders.

As the studies were released, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) held a public hearing on adopting the Advanced Clean Cars program, or ACC II, which was approved by the California Air Resources Board in August 2022 and is being considered by other states. ACC II will require manufacturers of passenger vehicles and light trucks to increase EVs’ share of annual new vehicle sales in the state.

The Sierra Club-commissioned modeling confirmed the massive contribution of emissions from on-road vehicles to ozone pollution in Maryland and estimated that medium- and heavy-duty vehicle pollution contributed the majority of transportation-generated ozone.

In view of their findings, the Sierra Club and the Union of Concerned Scientists urged the MDE to publish the ACC II and ACT Rules in 2023 and swiftly implement the regulations in Model Year 2027. The agency is currently moving to implement both under the Moore administration and the Maryland General Assembly.

In April, Moore signed the Clean Trucks Act of 2023, which applies to vehicles from the model year 2027 onward.

As part of the implementation of the new clean trucks rules, the MDE is required to adopt regulations by December that establish sales targets for manufacturers through 2035. Environmentalists and advocates hailed the clean trucks law as a significant step toward eliminating toxic air pollution. READ MORE