Zero-emission cars on roads by 2025: Eight US states pledge to get 3.3m zero-emission

On Thursday, the governors of eight states pledged to get 3.3m zero-emission vehicles on roadways by 2025 in an effort to curb greenhouse gas pollution. In the eight states includes California and New York

To sign a memorandum of understanding, representatives from all eight states were to assemble in Sacramento. This would raise infrastructure and make other alternations to help increase market share for electric cars, hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. The expectations are in 2015, there should be more than 200,000 zero emissions vehicles on the road.

“This agreement is a major step forward to reducing the emissions that are causing our climate to change and unleashing the extreme weather that we are experiencing with increased frequency,” New York Governor Andrew M Cuomo said in a statement.

The other states such as Massachusetts, Maryland, Oregon, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont are also involve in the agreement. All in all the eight states represent about 23 percent of the US auto market.

Every state has already separately agreed to policies to entail a percentage of new vehicles sold to be zero emission by 2025. California’s authorization alone of 15.4% calls for a total of 1.5m zero-emission vehicles to be on the state’s roads by that time.

It’s a precipitous curve. Today in California, plug-in-hybrids and electric vehicles make up less than 2% of the auto market.

First, the states will institute a taskforce to contribute ideas that will help inflate the network of charging and fueling stations necessary to make electric and hydrogen-fueled vehicles more striking to consumers, all under terms of the memorandum.

“The idea is to broaden the pool of people talking about this and working their way through the challenges that come up in setting up this kind of infrastructure, and growing this kind of a market,” said Dave Clegern, a spokesman for California’s Air Resources Board, which regulates auto emissions.

Now, there are 16 zero-emission vehicles from eight manufacturers on the market; nine that run on batteries alone, two hydrogen fuel cell cars and five plug-in hybrid models, which can run on battery alone or gasoline.

Officials say that every automaker will have a zero-emission model by 2015.

According to car dealers, who are under pressure to help meet these 2025 goals, getting fueling infrastructure like charging stations in place quickly is the only way to get average consumers used to a new product that requires new driving habits.

“We think that is going to be necessary for some of the range anxiety and other acceptance barriers that need to be broken down,” said Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Association.

“The cars are coming – they’re here already – but if you don’t have a place to charge them, there’s not going to be the level of consumer acceptance.”

Governors signing the memorandum all addressed the cooperative exertion as a way to hurriedly resolve the foreseeable problems that occur when making such far-reaching adjustments in people’s everyday lives.

Furthermore some observe future economic benefits from the switch to new vehicles.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said more electric vehicles are key to his state’s efforts grow the region’s economy.

“Diversifying transportation fuels and providing drivers with options will help reduce vulnerability to price swings in imported oil that hurt consumers and our economy,” Patrick said in a statement.