New York to adopt ZEV sale mandates

New York will adopt California's aggressive phase out of new gasoline-powered passenger vehicles over the next decade, marking another major US gasoline consumer working to thin demand for the fuel.

The state will adopt California standards requiring that zero-emissions vehicles make up all new light-duty vehicle sales by 2035, and more than two-thirds of new vehicle sales in the state by 2030, governor Kathy Hochul (D) said today at an event in White Plains, New York. The decision would keep New York among the 17 states that chose to follow California emissions standards, rather than federal guidelines.

"We are really putting our foot on the accelerator and revving up our efforts to make sure we have this transition — not some day in the future, but on a specific date, a specific year, by the year 2035," Hochul said.

The California Air Resources Board in August adopted regulations targeting the phase out of new internal combustion vehicle sales over the next decade. A federal Clean Air Act provision allows California to adopt its own, stricter vehicle emissions rules, which other states can follow. California must still receive a US Environmental Protection Agency waiver before implementing the mandate.

"We had to wait for California to take a step because there's some federal requirement that California had to go first — that is the only time to let them go first," Hochul said. "But once they made that decision, we are able to step up immediately and say now there is nothing holding us back."

Medium- and heavy-duty vehicle ZEV mandates have moved on a separate, slower track.

New York, Washington, Oregon and 14 other states had already adopted previous California emissions standards. A Massachusetts climate law signed by governor Charlie Baker (R) included provisions to automatically adopt the new California mandates. Washington and Oregon have rulemakings underway to adopt the standards.

Automakers have warned that the mandates may be too aggressive, given the supply and pricing of key electric vehicle components. But the efforts have support from federal incentives to build out charging infrastructure and other electric vehicle needs.

New York was the fourth-largest state for gasoline consumption in 2021 behind Texas, California and Florida, according to the Energy Information Administration. The state reported 23,000 new battery electric vehicle registrations in 2021, and 17,000 through the first eight months of 2022, according to state department of motor vehicle data.

By Elliott Blackburn