By Jasmine Vazin
Living in Nevada over the last year has given us all a crash course on the impacts of climate change. Scorching heat waves, ongoing drought, and raging wildfires and smoke have become part of our daily lives. Climate scientists just came out with a study that looks at how different generations will be affected by climate change, concluding that “everyone under 40 today will live an unprecedented life in terms of their lifetime exposure to heat waves, droughts and floods.”
But as an organizer I believe in the power of people making change for the better. Saving even one life matters. We are living through the climate crisis; we must make choices now that will protect our future.
That’s why I’m so excited to see that Nevada is on the verge of becoming the next clean car state. Clean car standards are a proven mechanism to lower emissions from our cars and light-duty trucks, which mitigates the climate crisis, improves air quality in our communities, protects public health, and provides consumers with significant economic benefits in the form of pollution-free vehicles, which are cheaper to own than gas-powered cars. These standards represent a commonsense solution to a host of Nevada’s problems, and an example of the kind of climate action we need in all sectors going forward.
The 2021 State of the Air report found that Nevada cities have some of the highest levels of the most harmful types of air pollution: particle pollution and ozone. Both Las Vegas and Reno metropolitan areas are among the 25 cities most polluted by short-term particulate matter. This polluted air has dire health impacts: People exposed to particle pollution are at greater risk of having to be admitted to the hospital or emergency room, missing school or work, and being unable to go outside, especially those with preexisting heart or lung disease, elderly people, and children.
And dirty air is an unequal burden. Communities of color and low-income communities are more likely to be exposed to vehicle pollution. According to the State of the Air report, “people of color are over three times more likely to breathe the most polluted air than white people.”
Governor Sisolak introduced clean car standards for adoption in Nevada last summer to address these issues, and since then, these regulations have seen widespread support from governmental agencies, utilities, nonprofit organizations, and automakers. The Clean Cars Nevada coalition was launched early on in this process and is made up of over 60 organizations that have come together to support the program’s adoption.
We have been hard at work ensuring our members and community know about these standards and all the ways to get involved in supporting this critical climate policy. We held transportation team meetings on the subject, collected over 340 signatures and comments from our members and delivered them to the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, published blogs and op-eds, and provided comments and letters of support to the state throughout each stage of adoption.
If Nevada adopts clean car standards in the coming weeks, this will be a huge win for public health, climate mitigation, and consumer choice. It will also be a key step toward creating a cleaner transportation sector, in combination with investments in public transit and improved instructure for safer walking and biking.
Clean car standards will help clean our air, lower transportation emissions, and expand the electric vehicle market in the state so that prices lower and electric vehicles are accessible to all. We appreciate all the work Governor Sisolak and the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection have done to bring these standards to our state -- and we are counting the days until the Clean Cars program is a reality in Nevada.
The next step in this process is a final vote at the state’s Legislative Commission, and we are hopeful that any day now Nevada will be the next clean car state!
If adopted, these regulations will:
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Apply to passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles up to 8,500 lbs Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), and medium-duty passenger vehicles up to 10,000 lbs. GVWR.
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The Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) standard is proposing to adopt rules that require motor vehicle manufacturers to deliver vehicles for sale in the Nevada market that produce lower emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and other harmful air pollutants, like oxides of nitrogen (NOx), particulate matter (PM), and carbon monoxide (CO) starting in model year 2025. Automakers can implement existing cost-effective technologies in gas-powered cars, such as improvements in engines, transmissions, and use of lighter materials. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have adopted the LEV standard, with other states also considering adopting.
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The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program ensures that each year, automakers deliver more vehicles that are partly or fully zero emissions (such as plug-in hybrid or full electric vehicles) for sale in Nevada, starting in model year 2025. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia are considering or have already adopted clean car standards, and have seen increased electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle availability as a result. Once Clean Car Standards are adopted, about 6 to 8 percent of all vehicles manufacturers deliver to Nevada dealerships in 2025 could be electric. This is equivalent to about 10,600 plug-in cars, which is almost five times more than the 2,300 electric cars sold in Nevada in 2018!
When adopted, the benefits of these regulations are extensive:
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Cleaner cars and trucks save money. Cleaner, lower-emitting gasoline vehicles can also be more fuel-efficient than their higher-emitting counterparts, which saves drivers money at the pump. In Vegas, driving on electricity is the cost-equivalent of driving on $0.93/gallon gasoline. And on the right utility plan, it would cost as little as $0.41/gallon. Electric vehicle drivers also save money on maintenance costs—no oil means no oil changes!
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Reduced emissions from transportation improves public health. Smog and other vehicle pollution can be hazardous to public health by making it difficult to breathe and increasing cases of asthma, emphysema and bronchitis. Cleaner air means reduced respiratory illnesses and a better quality of life, including fewer hospital visits and a reduction in pollution-related work and school absences. Everybody benefits when we can improve worker productivity, educational outcomes, and lower health care costs.
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Electric vehicles support jobs and keep money in Nevada. As more of our power comes from renewable energy sources such as solar, we’re investing money in local jobs. Nearly 1,200 Nevadans have clean transportation jobs already and the ZEV Standard could double that by 2030. Nevada barely produces oil, and we send more than $4 billion out of state every year to buy fossil fuels. Clean Car Standards not only save consumers money – they keep those dollars circulating here at home.
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Lower vehicle emissions reduce climate impacts. Las Vegas is the fastest warming city in the United States and has gotten almost 6 degrees hotter since 1970. Wildfires and drought are also linked to our warming and drying climate. The best way to fight climate change is to use clean electricity to power our lives, including our cars.
If Nevada Adopts Clean Car Standards in the coming weeks, this will be a huge win for public health, climate mitigation, and consumer choice. These regulations will directly clean our air, lower emissions, and expand the electric vehicle market in the state so that prices lower and EVs are accessible to all. We appreciate all the work Governor Sisolak and the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection have done to bring these standards to our state- and we are counting the days until the Clean Cars program is a reality in Nevada!
Be on the lookout for more updates about our transportation work in Nevada, and learn how you can join our team working to bring about a just and sustainable transportation future.
The Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association’s 2021 Drive Electric Week Event Had over 24 EV models on display- with clean car standards, a variety of EV options will become available in NV! Photo Credit: Vinny Spotleson