MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • October 1, 2023
Maine law requires the state to reduce its fossil fuel emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. With more than half of all emissions in the state coming from transportation, we can’t expect to hit that target without putting a lot more electric vehicles on the road. If the Board of Environmental Protection adopts the proposal before them, auto manufacturers doing business in Maine would have to make sure that 43% of all new passenger vehicles are electric or hybrid in 2027. The threshold would raise to 82% by 2032; commercial trucks would be allowed a much more gradual transition. We suggest that the BEP go further, and follow California and other states in requiring that 100% of the new passenger vehicles sold by 2035 are low- or zero-emission.