“The Climate Act put us on the clock to meet major carbon reduction mandates, and it’s clear to me that Rhode Island will only meet the mandates by directly targeting the transportation sector,” McKee said in a statement from press “Implementing the Advanced Clean Cars II and Advanced Clean Trucks policy will help us do just that, minimize smog across the state, but especially in environmental justice communities, and ensure adequate customer choice in electric vehicles in the future”.
The regulations are being implemented by the state’s Department of Environmental Management, which will hold a public hearing on May 18 about the rulemaking process. The final rule is expected in January 2024, the DEM said.
The rules will be on the manufacturing side, not the buying or driving side. So, in theory, someone could buy a gas car from another state without these rules and register and drive it in Rhode Island.
But supporters said the measure would help Rhode Island get its fair share of electric vehicles as automakers shift to making more and more of them.
“They see the writing on the wall,” Terrence Gray, director of the state’s Department of Environmental Management, said at a news conference.
The rules are projected to save $60.7 million in avoided hospitalizations and emergency room visits by 2040, according to Allison Archambault, air quality monitoring specialist at DEM. Tailpipe emissions from gasoline cars contribute to asthma and other respiratory problems.
“It’s not just about the effects on the climate, it’s also about the effects on the health of our communities, and especially in communities of color, communities that are already overburdened in other ways,” said Democratic state Sen. Alana DiMario at the briefing.
The standards were developed in California, whose previous clean car rules Rhode Island had already joined. According to the McKee administration, Rhode Island now joins Washington, Virginia, Vermont, Oregon, New York and Massachusetts in adopting the successor Advanced Clean Cars II standards, and Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey are moving toward the adoption .
Eligible zero-emission vehicles, according to the McKee administration, include battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles. Plug-in hybrid vehicles can run, in part, on gasoline, but must have a certain electric range.
Under California rules that Rhode Island plans to adopt, gas-powered cars will still be allowed to be driven and sold used after 2035, but all new trucks, cars and SUVs will have to be zero-emissions.
California requires a 35% increase in zero-emission vehicle sales by 2026 to 100% by 2035; Rhode Island will follow these standards year after year.
“We need to do this for the health of our communities for generations to come,” said state Rep. Terri Cortvriend, a Democrat. “This is just part of what needs to be done to reduce our emissions and meet these goals.”
This article has been updated with additional information about the clean car rules.
Brian Amaral can be reached at brian.amaral@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44.
