New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) recently signed bellwether legislation to slash greenhouse gas emissions from new trucks and cars. The new bill, A.4302/S.2758, will require OEMs to sell only zero-emission commercial vehicles in New York by 2045, with the ramp up starting with the 2025 model year.

The bill also requires that 100% of in-state sales of new passenger cars and light-duty trucks be zero-emissions by 2035.

The governor also directed the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation “to release a proposed regulation that would significantly reduce air pollution from trucks,” according to the Office of the Governor.

The purpose of that yet-to-be-written regulation would be “to accelerate zero-emission truck sales, resulting in improved air quality statewide and in particular those communities disproportionately impacted by transportation-related pollution.”

The proposed regulation uses California's Advanced Clean Trucks Rule as a template. New York’s version would require truck manufacturers to transition to clean, electric zero-emission vehicles, according to the governor’s office.

Graduated Sales Approach

To get there, OEMs would be required to meet a certain annual sales percentage of zero-emission trucks, varying among vehicle weight classes, beginning with model year 2025.

By the 2035 model year, at least 55% of all new Class 2B-3 pickup trucks and vans; 75% of all new Class 4 to Class 8 trucks, and 40% of all new Class 7 to Class 8 tractors sold in New York State will have to be zero-emission.

The proposed regulation would provide medium- and heavy-duty truck manufacturers with “several compliance options and would require a one-time reporting from applicable truck fleets.”

Both the bill signed into law and the planned truck-specific rule support New York's existing goal of reducing overall GHG emissions by 85% by 2050, as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

Also required is the development of a “zero-emissions vehicle development strategy” by 2023. That effort, led by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, will “expedite the implementation of the State policies and programs” needed to achieve the goals of the new law.

"New York is implementing the nation's most aggressive plan to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions affecting our climate and to reach our ambitious goals, we must reduce emissions from the transportation sector, currently the largest source of the state's climate pollution," Governor Hochul said in a statement.

"The new law and regulation mark a critical milestone in our efforts and will further advance the transition to clean electric vehicles, while helping to reduce emissions in communities that have been overburdened by pollution from cars and trucks for decades," Hochul added.