DEC Announces Adoption of Advanced Clean Cars II Rule for New Passenger Cars and Light-Duty Truck Sales

All New Cars, Pickup Trucks, and SUVs Sold In New York To Be Zero-Emission by 2035

December 29, 2022

New York State Department of Environmental Conversation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced today the adoption of new requirements to reduce climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from the transportation sector. The Advanced Clean Car II regulations will require all new passenger cars and trucks sold in New York State to be zero-emissions by 2035. This step will accelerate zero-emission car sales, resulting in improved air quality statewide, particularly in communities disproportionately impacted by transportation-related pollution.

"Adopting Advanced Clean Cars II is a game-changing step for New York that will forever improve the health of our disadvantaged communities, and help bring about changes in zero-emission vehicle use here in the Empire State and across the country,” said Commissioner Seggos. “These requirements demonstrate New York’s commitment to, and Governor Kathy Hochul’s leadership in acting on climate and laying a strong foundation of cutting greenhouse gases, reducing harmful pollution, and promoting the growth of the green transportation industry."

The Advanced Clean Cars II rulemaking supports New York's ambitious work of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels, as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act). The regulation requires an increasing percentage of new light-duty vehicle sales to be zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) each year, starting with 35 percent ZEV sales in model year 2026, leading to 100 percent ZEV sales by 2035. Advanced Clean Cars II also includes revised pollutant standards for model year 2026 through model year 2034 passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles with internal combustion engines. The regulation provides manufacturers with flexibility to meet the emission requirements and help advance a successful transition to cleaner vehicles.

Adoption of Advanced Clean Cars II is included among the recommendations in the Climate Action Council's recently released Scoping Plan and will be instrumental in achieving the greenhouse gas emissions reductions required in the Climate Act. On Dec. 19, New York State's Climate Action Council adopted the Scoping Plan , which outlines recommended policies and actions to help meet the Climate Act’s goals and requirements. The plan was the culmination of more than three years of collaboration, including contributions from the Council’s Advisory Panels and Working Groups, since the enactment of the Climate Act in 2019.

Reducing transportation-related emissions in this rulemaking will provide significant air quality benefits, including progress to reduce ozone, for many of New York's disadvantaged communities that are predominantly home to low-income Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and often adjacent to transit routes with heavy vehicle traffic. The newly adopted regulation will help health and pollution burdens affecting these communities.

Also announced today, New York State appliance and equipment standards under the Advanced Building Codes, Appliance and Equipment Standards Act of 2022 will be adopted on Jan. 1, 2023, to set minimum energy and water efficiency requirements for residential and commercial products that will save consumers $264 million annually on utility bills by 2035, with $85 million benefiting low- to moderate-income households. The standards ensure performance and quality to phase out poor, inefficient and wasteful products while reducing energy and water consumption to limit 807,000 metric tons and save more than 25 billion gallons in annual water by 2035 to help meet New York’s nation-leading emissions reduction goals under the Climate Act.

NYSERDA President and CEO and Climate Action Council Co-Chair Doreen M. Harris said, “Putting more clean vehicles on our roadways reduces pollution and emissions that cause climate change, improving health in communities, while providing consumers more choice in the type of vehicle they drive or ride in. As we advance vehicle electrification, we are also raising the bar for energy efficient appliances with new standards that call for products to feature the latest technologies and energy saving features.”

New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “The Advanced Clean Car II regulations will speed the transition to zero-emission vehicles and advance New York’s nation leading efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The state Department of Transportation is advancing Governor Hochul’s vision to provide greener and cleaner transportation, collaborating with our partners in government and the private sector to build out the infrastructure needed to support electric vehicles and create a more sustainable transportation network for all New Yorkers.”

The regulatory action announced today builds on New York's ongoing efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, including the adoption of the Advanced Clean Trucks regulation in December 2021. That regulation will drive an increase in the number of medium- and heavy-duty ZEV models available as purchase options for vehicle purchasers and fleets.

Both the Advanced Clean Trucks and Advanced Clean Cars II rules will provide the needed regulatory certainty to support a stable market for long-term vehicle purchasing decisions and the development of ZEV charging infrastructure.

New York is investing more than $1 billion in ZEVs of all weight classes over the next five years. Active light-duty vehicle initiatives include zero-emission vehicle purchase rebates through NYSERDA's Drive Clean Rebate Program, zero-emission vehicle and charging infrastructure grants through DEC's Climate Smart Communities Municipal Grant Program, as well as the "EV Make Ready" initiative, NYPA's EVolve NY charging infrastructure program, and DOT's National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) charging infrastructure program to help expand electric vehicle use.

In addition to the Advanced Clean Car II regulations, New York incorporated California’s Heavy-Duty Low Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) Omnibus and Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas standards under a separate rulemaking. The Heavy Duty Omnibus regulation requires medium- and heavy-duty engine manufacturers to sell new, cleaner vehicles (e.g., heavy-duty trucks) that meet more stringent NOx and particulate matter emissions standards, beginning with engine model year 2026. The regulation also includes revised test procedures and longer useful life and warranty requirements for applicable medium-and heavy-duty vehicles compared to current federal requirements. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently finalized new clean-air standards for heavy-duty trucks beginning with the model year 2027. New York’s NOx emission standards for heavy-duty engines, when fully implemented, would be more stringent than the recently announced national standards.

DEC is implementing the regulations through an emergency rulemaking and also making the regulations available for public comment. Advanced Clean Cars II regulations will be available for public comment until March 6 and a virtual public hearing on the measure will be held on March 1. The Heavy Duty Omnibus regulation will be available for public comment until March 6 and a virtual public hearing will be held on Feb. 28. More details about the regulations, registering for the public hearings, and details on submitting public comments can be found in the State Register and on DEC’s website at: https://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/propregulations.html#emergency .

New York State's Nation-Leading Climate Plan

New York State's nation-leading climate agenda is the most aggressive climate and clean energy initiative in the nation, calling for an orderly and just transition to clean energy that creates jobs and continues fostering a green economy as New York State recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Enshrined into law through the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, New York is on a path to achieve its mandated goal of a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and to reach economy wide carbon neutrality. It builds on New York's unprecedented investments to ramp-up clean energy including over $35 billion in 120 large-scale renewable and transmission projects across the state, $6.8 billion to reduce buildings emissions, $1.8 billion to scale up solar, more than $1 billion for clean transportation initiatives, and over $1.6 billion in NY Green Bank commitments. Combined, these investments are supporting more than 165,000 jobs in New York’s clean energy sector in 2021, a 2,100 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011 and a commitment to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. Under the Climate Act, New York will build on this progress and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, while ensuring that at least 35 percent with a goal of 40 percent of the benefits of clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities, and advance progress towards the state's 2025 energy efficiency target of reducing on-site energy consumption by 185 trillion BTUs of end-use energy savings.