Close to midnight yesterday, on the last day of the informal session, the Massachusetts legislature passed an Act promoting zero emission vehicle adoption, which contains measures to reduce barriers to electric vehicle (EV) ownership in Massachusetts.
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.
Press Releases
Today, final numbers of U.S. electric vehicle (EV) sales for the 2016 year were released showing that despite low gas prices, a record-breaking 24,785 electric vehicles were purchased this past December, the largest sales month ever (the last highest sales month was September 2016 when 17,224 EVs were sold in the U.S.).
On Wednesday, Governor Cuomo is expected to announce plans to install over 500 electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations, 500 at New York workplaces and 69 along the New York State Thruway, as a part of his State of the State agenda.
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced findings that Fiat Chrysler used cheat devices in more than 100,000 U.S. diesel vehicles sold since 2014, including the Dodge Ram 1500 pickup trucks and Jeep Grand Cherokees with 3.0-liter diesel engines. These emissions cheating devices allow the vehicles to pass emissions control tests while emitting excess emissions when in daily use.
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized its proposed decision on fuel efficiency standards, originally set by the Obama administration in 2012.
Today, an environmental coalition including the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, the Ecology Center, Electric Auto Association, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Fresh Energy, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Ceres, the Greenlining Institute, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Conservation Law Foundation submitted recommendations to Volkswagen (VW) on how to most effectively spend a portion of national settlement funds to increase green transportation: the “ZEV Investment Plan.”
Albany, NY -- Today, Governor Cuomo announced $3 million in funding for municipalities and electricity cooperatives to purchase electric vehicles for their municipal fleets. The funding is part of the New York Power Authority’s Municipal Electric-Drive Vehicle Program, which provides financial assistance for the purchase of electric vehicles and hybrids to facilitate the replacement of fossil fuel-powered vehicles.
Albany -- On Thursday, Consolidated Edison (Con-Ed) issued a request for information (RFI) for a $25 million investment with additional third-party funding, focused on electric vehicle (EV) charging station installations (including curbside in New York City), off-peak rate EV charging design for customers, and government EV fleet transition (delivery vehicles, car-sharing programs, etc.). All of these initiatives will be accompanied by a robust marketing strategy for Con-Ed’s customers.
Utah -- Yesterday, the Public Service Commission approved an $10M Electric Vehicle (EV) incentive and time-of-use pilot program, as a part of Rocky Mountain Power's Application to Implement Programs Authorized by the state’s Sustainable Transportation and Energy Plan Act.
Today, Scott Pruitt’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a hearing for their reconsideration of light duty vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards for model years 2021-2025.