Earlier this week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo released bold and promising new transportation and electric vehicle initiatives as part of his annual State of the State address. While more details will be forthcoming when the Governor’s budget is released in the coming weeks, there are some important new proposals for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in New York’s transportation sector and for electrifying New York’s transportation systems. These include the development of a comprehensive plan to reduce emissions in the transportation sector, installation of 10,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations by 2021, and the commitment to prioritize spending the millions in Volkswagen settlement funds on the electrification of buses, cars, trucks, and airport and port vehicles.
Over the last several years, Governor Cuomo has made significant commitments to reducing climate pollution from the electric sector. This year’s State of the State continues this progress, while also focusing on the transportation sector, which at 34% of NY’s greenhouse gas pollution, now exceeds the electric sector’s contributions.
In New York, an EV is about 70 percent lower in emissions than a similarly sized conventional car, even factoring in emissions from electricity sources. And with Governor Cuomo’s commitments to cleaning up the electric sector, EVs in New York will only get cleaner.
But while the transportation sector is a major contributor of greenhouse gas in New York, there has not yet been a comprehensive state level plan to bring transportation emissions into alignment with the state’s broader emissions reduction goals. Sierra Club applauds Governor Cuomo’s State of the State commitment to develop such a plan to reduce GHG emissions in the transportation sector, and his intention to create a plan that prioritizes transportation electrification. This plan must be swift and bold to make the kind of impact we need in order to mitigate New York’s climate pollution and protect New Yorkers’ health. The state can be a leading edge example for a region-wide program that the Cuomo and other administrations in the Northeast are considering that will put a price on carbon in the transportation sector and bring on a suite of transportation policy solutions-similar to RGGI but for transportation.
The expansion of Charge NY to bring the number of publicly accessible EV chargers on New York streets and roads to 10,000 by 2021 will help New York be ready to meet the influx of EVs hitting the market. Building out New York’s clean fuel corridors (85,000 miles of roads through 35 states that provide fuel for electric vehicles) could help accommodate the increased number of electric cars on the roads through fast charging, and “ChargeNY 2.0” could add access to the other parts of the state that need fast and Level 2 charging as well. This provides clean driving options and benefits to densely populated urban areas, to Central, Southern and Northern New York, whose economies include or depend on tourism and where mass transit options are limited.
This charging expansion must prioritize access to clean driving options for those in multi-unit dwellings (apartments and condos) and also for those in public transit deserts and car-dependent communities. Adding charging at workplaces, universities, hospitals, clinics, airports, and public transportation hubs will also make driving electric vehicles more realistic for families and commuters with one car.
Sierra Club has been working across the U.S. to ensure that Volkswagen (VW) settlement funds will be directed to electrification. By taking the lead by prioritizing electric vehicles, New York is setting a strong example for other states. Ideally, New York would tie its VW settlement funding to carbon and NOx emissions mitigation plans, as Washington State has done.
Since thousands of New Yorkers, including more than 100 small business owners, have weighed in with Governor Cuomo in support of transitioning to electric vehicles -- from transit and school buses to port and airport vehicles. It is great to see the replacement of diesel vehicles with emission-free electric vehicles prioritized in this proposal. The Governor specifically commits to replace diesel transit buses in urban areas with electric, and to electrify airport equipment, tugs, ferries, and freight switcher locomotives in urban switchyards -- a great first step. Such replacements will have a long overdue positive impact on air quality in low income and urban communities that currently bear the heaviest burden of vehicle emissions.
Los Angeles County Metro recently committed to all electric transit buses by 2030. We hope to see New York’s transit agencies, such as MTA in New York City, to use VW and other funds to make a major switch to zero emission transit buses, too.
Replacing high-emitting diesel school buses that pollute the air where children with vulnerable, developing lungs learn and play, and replacing freight trucks that pollute the air in crowded urban areas will have particular benefits to children and communities disproportionately exposed to air pollution.
While we clearly have further to go to decarbonize New York’s grid and rid New York of fossil fuel use, we are pleased to see strong proposals put forward to electrify New York’s transportation sector.