The Massachusetts Zero Emission Vehicle Coalition and its partners, which includes the Newton EV Task Force and League of Women Voters Massachusetts, recently sent the Department of Transportation and Department of Environmental Protection a letter urging action by the State, “Set a goal and create an action plan for all vehicles to be electric by 2040. Commit to all electric transit and school bus fleets by 2035. Commit to complete electrification of state and municipal fleets by 2035. Establish goals and incentive programs for the conversion of private vehicle fleets.”
The COVID-19 pandemic makes the transition to cleaner electric vehicles even more urgent as “People with COVID-19 who live in US Regions with high levels of air pollution are more likely to die from the disease than people who live in less polluted areas.” Middlesex County has the second highest level of air pollution particulate matter in Massachusetts, much of it concentrated along the Mass Pike and 128 (A Clean Transportation System for my Patients).
Transportation accounts for the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts. Setting a goal and creating an action plan for electrification of vehicles is an important step toward achieving the State’s ambitious net zero emissions limit. It’s time for the State of Massachusetts to make good on the Governor’s Earth Day 2020 pledge for an aggressive, science-based net-zero emissions limit.
Read the complete letter from the Massachusetts Zero Emission Vehicle Coalition.
Contact Lucia at dolanlucia@gmail.com if you are interested in joining Green Newton’s Transportation Committee.
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