Sierra Club Applauds Georgia’s VW Settlement Funding Plan

Atlanta, GA -- Yesterday, Georgia released its draft plan for the use of the Volkswagen diesel settlement fund money. Sierra Club applauds Georgia’s plan to focus in part on zero-emission electric transit buses (“ZEBs”) in and around the Atlanta area, and encourages Georgia to maximize its investment in electric buses.

As the National Argonne Lab “AFLEET” model demonstrates, electric transit buses offer the greatest amount of NOx emissions reductions per dollar over the lifetime of the vehicle as well as the greatest absolute reduction in NOx emissions. NOx are a key ingredient in smog, which Atlanta struggles with, and by maximizing Georgia’s investment in electric transit buses, residents of Atlanta can literally breathe a little easier.  Moreover, investing in electric buses keeps Georgia on the forefront of the electrification of transportation, it keeps money in Georgia’s economy, and it keeps jobs growing in the peach state.     

In September 2015, Volkswagen admitted to installing software in certain diesel vehicles designed to bypass pollution control systems, resulting in dangerous emissions up to 40 times than allowed by law. In October of 2016, Volkswagen agreed to settle for their deceit by spending up to $14.7 billion to remediate the excess NOx or smog emissions. A majority of this money is going to vehicle buyback and modification programs for affected consumers, but $2.7 billion of this settlement money is going towards NOx reduction programs via the Environmental Mitigation Trust, meaning each U.S. state can receive tens of millions of dollars towards clean transportation programs.

The Environmental Mitigation Trust funds provide states with the opportunity to decrease the impact that transportation has on our climate. In total, the U.S. transportation sector—which includes cars, buses, trucks, planes, trains, ships, and freight—produces nearly thirty percent of all U.S. climate emissions, more than any other single sector. It is estimated that the worldwide impact of 11 million affected vehicles with installed cheat devices could be causing as much air pollution as 20 coal plants every year. The funding from this settlement can be used to help electrify the transportation sector in every U.S. state and eliminate one of our biggest sources of pollution in the country. The funding can be used to increase electric vehicle infrastructure through the building of charging stations and for states to invest in zero emission transit buses, school buses, and port vehicles. The Sierra Club is urging for the funding to be used on clean, electric transportation options rather than compressed natural gas, diesel, or propane vehicles.

In response, Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Director Ted Terry released the following statement:

"Volkswagen’s actions were as dangerous as the sickening smog their vehicles left behind. But with funding from the settlement’s Environmental Mitigation Trust, states now have the opportunity to implement clean electric transportation initiatives to drive away dirty pollution. Georgia’s settlement funding plan is a move towards cleaning up Volkswagen’s dirty deceit. By prioritizing zero-emission electric buses, Georgia’s mitigation plan will put clean transportation in the fast lane.”