Clean Transportation

Clean Transportation

Clean Transportation

Revolutionizing our transportation systems is a crucial piece of Sierra Club's work to ensure we all can live in healthy communities, move around safely, and build a future powered by renewable energy.



What is clean transportation?

We all want to breathe clean air and protect our families from toxic pollution and climate change. Unfortunately, transportation is currently our nation's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and a major source of air pollution. To build a livable future, we must shift away from fossil fuel-powered vehicles and towards clean, renewable transportation.

Right now, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress want to make it harder to drive clean cars, which will increase how much money you spend at the pump. We can stop them, but we need your help to protect access to public transportation, electric vehicles, and other clean transportation options.

Over the lifetime of the vehicle, a gas car puts out 4.5x more carbon pollution and infinitely more toxic tailpipe air pollution than an electric car.

Why is clean transportation essential?

We all want to breathe clean air and protect our families from toxic pollution and climate change. Unfortunately, transportation is currently our nation's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and a major source of air pollution. To build a livable future, we must shift away from combustion vehicles and towards clean transportation.

Victory!

In a landmark legal win for clean transportation, a federal court has permanently barred the Trump administration from freezing funds for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program – that is, a $5 billion federal initiative to build reliable, high-speed electric vehicle charging stations along America's highways!

The ruling means all 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico now have the legal certainty they need to move forward building a nationwide charging network, free from unlawful interference. Sierra Club and partners brought this case on behalf of members who were directly harmed by the freeze.

This is what people power looks like: Sierra Club members standing up to protect clean transportation investment, cleaner air, and better access to affordable electric vehicle driving for everyone.

February 9, 2022

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, President Biden’s Department of Transportation and Department of Energy announced $5 billion towards a program that aims to build out a network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers across the nation, an investment out of the recently passed infrastructure law.

February 8, 2022

LEBANON, TN - Today, President Biden announced that Tritium, an Australia-based electric vehicle charger manufacturer, will open its first U.S. facility in Lebanon, Tennessee. This facility will produce up to 30,000 DC Fast Chargers each year and create 500 local jobs.

February 4, 2022

For the fifth year, grassroots transit rider groups, environmental, climate justice, civil rights, disability, and faith organizations, and transit workers unions, will organize actions across the country to recognize transit equity as a civil right.

2 de febrero de 2022

El Washington Post informa hoy que la Agencia de Protección Ambiental (EPA) y el Consejo de Calidad Ambiental de la Casa Blanca enviaron hoy cartas al Servicio Postal urgiendo a la agencia a que reconsidere sus planes de comprar un 90% de vehículos de combustión interna en su próxima adquisición.

February 2, 2022

WASHINGTON, DC - On the heels of advocacy from environmental groups and California air quality regulators, the Washington Post reported that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) sent letters to the Postal Service today urging the agency to reconsider its plans to buy 90 percent gas-powered vehicles in its next vehicle purchase and to conduct a new, more thorough technical analysis.

January 26, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last night, Sierra Club hosted a video projection on the front of Walter E. Washington Convention Center during the Washington, DC Auto Show. The projection calls out Toyota’s greenwashing of their dirty vehicle fleet. The projection can be viewed here.  

January 4, 2022

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Reuters reported that Toyota outsold General Motors in 2021 in the United States. GM has been the national leader in annual sales since 1931.

December 30, 2021

State Joins Coast to Coast Movement to Adopt Zero-Emission Regulation in Path to Healthier CommunitiesALBANY, NY –  Today, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation adopted the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) rule, moving forward with a regulation that will help to achieve widespread electrification of vehicles ranging from delivery vans to tractor trailers. 

December 20, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its final rule for federal clean car standards, which will curb emissions from the transportation sector and protect our health and our climate by strengthening the stringency for model years 2023 through 2026 for cars and light-duty trucks, including making important changes to improve on its initial proposal from August. 

December 19, 2021

Today, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) adopted the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule, moving forward a regulatory path for electrifying everything from delivery vans to tractor trailers in the state.