Maryland, N.J. advance efforts to adopt Advanced Clean Cars II

Maryland and New Jersey are getting closer to adopting California’s Advanced Clean Cars II standards, which requires all new light-duty vehicles to be zero emission by 2035.

On Monday, March 13, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced that the Old Line State will be adopting Advanced Clean Cars II.

Initially adopted by California, Advanced Clean Cars II requires all new passenger cars, trucks and SUVs to be zero-emission by 2035. According to CARB documents, 35% of all new passenger vehicles sold in California must be zero-emission vehicles by 2026. That percentage gradually increases to 100% of all new light-duty vehicles by 2035.

“The Advanced Clean Cars II regulation is a big step toward cleaner air and a more aggressive response to the threats posed by climate change,” Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain said in a statement. “This rule will help position us to meet the goals of our Climate Solutions Now Act and 2030 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act Plan while bringing economic benefits to Marylanders.”

According to a news release, 383,000 fewer new gas-powered vehicles would be sold under the new rule by 2030, rising to 1.68 million fewer conventional vehicles by 2035. Electric vehicles cost roughly one-fourth as much to drive as gasoline cars in Maryland. Electric vehicles also generally have lower maintenance costs, and there are state and federal tax incentives for their purchase.

Meanwhile in New Jersey, the state Department of Environmental Protection began its stakeholder process to adopt Advanced Clean Cars II.

During the meeting, nearly two dozen stakeholders spoke in support of measure, with only one person opposing it.

It is worth noting that the Advanced Clean Cars II regulations do not place a total ban on gas-powered passenger vehicles. Motorists will be able to continue to drive their existing fossil fuel-powered vehicles. Furthermore, the new rules apply only to light-duty passenger vehicles. Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are exempt from emission regulations.

California is the only state allowed to change its emission regulations per Section 177 of the Clean Air Act. However, once adopted, other states can follow suit. To date, 17 states have adopted all or part of California’s vehicle emission standards: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. LL