Maine communities are experiencing the devastating impacts of climate change more frequently as storms batter our coastlines and flooding damages our homes, businesses and trails. We must all work together to rebuild while making sure we are doing everything possible to address the underlying cause of these impacts.

The Natural Resources Council of Maine and our statewide network of supporters have worked for more than 60 years to conserve Maine’s environment. Today, that means addressing climate change. To ensure the future of what makes Maine special, we need to accelerate our transition away from expensive and polluting fossil fuels to home-grown clean energy sources and technologies like heat pumps and zero-emission vehicles.

Adopting stronger standards for clean cars is a big step in the right direction for Maine. It would expand consumer choice and tackle the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in our state: pollution from cars and trucks.

If we want to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and protect our communities, we cannot afford to delay adoption of the Advanced Clean Cars II program any longer.

Opponents of this commonsense standard are misleading Mainers and mischaracterizing what the program would do. Instead of working together to move us forward, they would see Maine left behind in the clean energy transition, letting benefits flow to other states, while offering no solution for reducing the pollution that is harming our health and making climate change worse.

No one will ever be forced to purchase a car or truck that doesn’t work for them. The standard would be phased in steadily over a decade and only applies to new vehicles. It will not have an impact on the used-vehicle market, where most Mainers buy and sell their vehicles, other than potentially increasing the supply of used electric cars.

Thirteen other states have already adopted Advanced Clean Cars II. If Maine does not do so this year, new electric car models will go to those other states, leaving off the table billions in cost savings for Maine drivers.

There are now more than three times as many zero-emission vehicles on the road in Maine than there were in 2020, but limited availability is forcing drivers that want them to wait or seek other options. Advanced Clean Cars II responds to the growing demand from Maine people for zero-emission cars, vans, and trucks by making sure carmakers bring more zero-emission vehicles to Maine each year.

Hundreds of people from across Maine petitioned the state to adopt this standard through a legal process created and approved by the Maine Legislature. Thousands of residents have participated in the many opportunities for public comment over the past two years.

Adopting cleaner car standards like this is not new. It builds on decades of successfully curbing pollution and reducing fuel costs for drivers by enacting stronger fuel efficiency and tailpipe pollution standards under the Clean Air Act.

Maine is well positioned to adopt Advanced Clean Cars II thanks to investment in home-grown clean energy projects and recent work by the Maine Department of Transportation and Efficiency Maine to build out a statewide network of electric vehicle chargers. While more work is still ahead, Maine is now in the top 10 states for public EV chargers per capita, with more chargers coming online thanks to more than $40 million in federal funding.

We know that when people go electric, they don’t want to go back. Our survey of electric-vehicle owners in Maine found that 98% of them would recommend a zero-emission vehicle to a friend because they are cheaper to operate and maintain (and more fun to drive).

Adopting Advanced Clean Cars II this year while investing in public transit and safer walking or biking paths maintains freedom of choice. It allows everyone the opportunity to choose the option that works best for their home or business purposes, while making our air cleaner by expanding the zero-emission options available for all Maine consumers.