While we focus on the current attacks on our democracy, we face simultaneous threats to our climate safety -- communities are suffering from storms, wildfires, extreme heat, and droughts that are worsening unabated. With the transportation sector making up the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in the US, and transportation pollution posing major risks to our health, ramping up our clean transportation policies will be vital to ending the climate crisis and building healthier communities. We’re looking back at the clean transportation progress made in the rearview mirror of 2020, a difficult year, and envisioning what is possible and important to achieve in 2021 -- a year that already promises to continue to be difficult, and yet filled with much-needed progress.
Looking Back at 2020
Even with a pandemic raging and our economy severely hampered, we secured some important clean transportation achievements in 2020. This includes commitments by ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft that they will shift to all-electric rides in the US by 2030 and work to support public transit. Following advocacy led by community groups to prevent “diesel death,” California passed the Advanced Clean Trucks Rule, which will ensure that all trucks in the Golden State will be clean and electric by 2045.
Meanwhile, we now have more than $3.5 billion in utility sector electric vehicle (EV) programs approved or proposed in nearly 30 red, blue, and purple states, including more than $1.4 billion approved in 2020 alone in New York, Minnesota, California, South Carolina, and elsewhere. These investments will result in EV charging infrastructure at workplaces, in low-income neighborhoods, and at transit hubs. Many of the programs include provisions that will ensure that the electricity used to charge EVs will increasingly come from renewable sources.
Last year was a devastating year in the public transit arena, including cratered revenue streams for already struggling transit agencies and increased adversity for transit riders and workers, particularly Black Americans, who make up nearly 30 percent of US bus drivers and essential workers. But there were some bright spots, including upwards of $2 billion approved for a new electric light rail project in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, nearly $40 billion in relief funding allocated to transit agencies through the March and December Congressional COVID-19 packages, and several new transit and land use programs passed through ballot initiatives in November.
Looking Forward to 2021
Turning toward 2021, this is an acceleration moment for electric vehicles and an essential year to save public transit. We are one day away from having a federal administration that trusts science, has a bold climate agenda, and understands the need to urgently advance clean mobility by making EVs accessible to everyone and investing in public transit.
Trump's reversal of the clean car standards prioritized auto industry profits over public health. Reversing this dangerous rollback must be an administrative priority. But we can’t stop there. Developing new clean car multi-pollutant standards will put us on a path so that 100 percent of new vehicle sales will be zero-emission before 2035. A rapid transition to zero-emission vehicles is imperative for our health and climate and will create more family-sustaining auto industry jobs in this country. We are also poised to urge the federal government to expand the federal EV tax credit and install a robust EV charging network.
What Biden and States Must Do
Reduce Pollution from Cars, Trucks, and Buses
The Biden Administration must immediately restore the waiver that gives California the authority to set clean car standards, ensuring that California and the many states that have adopted these standards can continue to reduce air pollution and protect public health. We’ll be demonstrating public support for new states like Minnesota, Nevada, and Virginia joining the clean cars program. At the same time, we’ll continue to pressure automakers and dealers to deliver zero-emission vehicles for car buyers at all income levels and increase their marketing and advertising for EVs.
After the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule passed in California last summer, 14 states and DC signed a Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero Emission Vehicle Memorandum of Understanding pledging to ramp up the transition to 100 percent electric trucks and buses. Now California must secure a new waiver for that program and help states nationwide implement clean truck commitments and adopt the ACT regulation.
We must also push the federal government to develop truck emission standards to tackle toxic truck pollution. As health-threatening freight pollution disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities, we urge the Biden Administration and state governments to put communities first and engage meaningfully with environmental justice groups to shape the policies to reduce truck pollution.
Our team and allies are gearing up this year to secure bold EV proposals and approvals by utilities and regulators in states such as Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, and California. In fact, we’ve already hit the ground running with a $110 million program approved last week in Colorado that will lead to 20,000 new EV charging units at workplaces, low-income communities, and elsewhere.
We’re also looking forward to successfully pushing for transit agencies in places such as Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York to make long-term commitments to fully electrify their bus fleets. Meanwhile, we’ll be building on calls for school districts to electrify their school bus fleets, so children and the communities where they live can start to say goodbye to dangerous diesel bus pollution.
Invest in Public Transit & Getting Around Without Cars
Looking beyond cleaning up vehicle pollution, the US must also invest in expanding public transit access and options for active transportation. Communities should protect and expand transit so that everyone is able to safely and reliably get where they need to go. While overall transit ridership decreased due to the coronavirus stay-at-home orders, many people still rely on public transportation for essential trips to work, the grocery store, or the doctor's office.
Now is not the time to close train stations or cut bus routes. The Sierra Club is participating in the Transit Equity Day events on February 3-4 to honor Rosa Parks and voice our support for public transit as a civil right. We are also continuing to advocate for “complete streets,” a system for designing streets for everyone, including pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders.
The results of the general election in November and the Georgia runoff this month have revived our hope for transformational climate action in Washington, DC and in state legislatures across the US. We’re grateful for your hard work to help elect climate champions to bring about this moment where we have the opportunity to enact lifesaving clean transportation policies.