On this Earth Day, the Zero Emission Transportation Association would like to highlight some of the significant strides that have recently taken place to clean up our air, improve public health, and protect our environment.

ZETA is proud to have supported the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the past year, as it finalized new national pollution standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles, as well as greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles. These rules, that apply for model years 2027 through 2032, will significantly raise the bar of what we expect from our auto manufacturers. The pollution standards alone are expected to avoid more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions and result in $13 billion of public health benefits annually due to cleaner air. Meanwhile, the heavy-duty standards will avoid an additional 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions, adding another $13 billion in annual public health benefits, and improving air quality for 72 million people that live near trucking routes in the United States.

These are significant steps, and they are achievable with the technology that we have available today.

The EV industry is working hard to make this happen. In 2023, more than 1 million EVs were sold in the United States, the first time that milestone has been achieved within a calendar year. Since 2021, more than $165 billion has been invested in the EV and battery supply chain, creating good-paying American jobs and ensuring that the US is competitive in the global EV market. During the past few years, efforts to grow the EV charging network have resulted in the installation of more than 170,000 public charging ports, averaging more than 900 new charger openings per week.

A recent Bloomberg analysis of federal data found that almost 600 public fast-charging stations were switched on for US drivers in the first three months of this year, a 7.6% increase over the end of 2023. There are now almost 8,200 quick-turn EV stations across the country, or one for every 15 gas stations. 

These are significant milestones. Still, there is so much work to be done. On this Earth Day, let’s celebrate the incredible progress we have made.