The Problem: Vehicle tailpipe pollution harms our health

The Problem: Vehicle tailpipe pollution causes climate change

The Problem: Burning gasoline or diesel in vehicles is a waste of money

The Solution: Bring more clean, zero-emission vehicles to New Mexico

Action: Governor Lujan Grisham has real opportunities to make progress now by adopting Clean Cars Standards
Governor Lujan Grisham can adopt ready-made policies to accelerate zero-emission vehicle deployment in New Mexico, which will improve our health, protect our climate and save us money.

New Mexicans deserve clean air for their families and the communities they live in.

Clean cars standards will open new doors to cleaner air and improved public health. They will also help New Mexico reach our bold goals to fight against climate change.

The New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board and the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board are considering clean cars standards.
 
Transportation pollution makes up 14% of carbon emissions harming New Mexico’s air and environment. Transportation pollution is a public health crisis, and it exacerbates health problems for our most vulnerable New Mexicans, including children, the elderly, and anyone with respiratory conditions like asthma. Transportation-related pollutants are linked to many adverse health effects, including decreases in lung function, inflammation of airways, aggravated asthma, increased risk of cancer, damage to the immune system, and neurological, reproductive, developmental, and other health problems.

High-traffic corridors and industrial facilities are significant sources of air pollution, and nearby low-income neighborhoods and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by health ailments linked to vehicle emissions. 

Just as vehicle pollution makes people sick, tailpipe emissions are a leading cause of the climate crisis, causing drought, fires, and extreme heat. The climate impacts of vehicle emissions compound the direct health problems our communities already face from smog and ozone. 

New Mexico Clean Cars Clean Air is a group advocating for rules to reduce smog pollution in the state by making it easier for all New Mexicans to replace their dirty, polluting cars with low or zero-emission vehicles and improve air quality in our most vulnerable neighborhoods.

With clean cars standards, we will have cleaner air and do better for all hardworking New Mexicans while simultaneously paving the way for a robust used low or zero-emission vehicle market that will never exist without these standards.

Clean cars and truck standards include various components that will enable our state to reduce harmful emissions from passenger vehicles. The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program requires auto manufacturers to bring more all-electric passenger vehicles to the state, while the low-emission vehicle (LEV) standard reduces harmful air pollution from fossil fuel powered passenger vehicles. Meanwhile, the Advanced Clean Truck rule aims to ensure an adequate supply of all electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks is available for sale in New Mexico, and the Low Nox Omnibus rule reduces the amount of harmful Nox pollution coming from any new diesel powered trucks. Collectively, these rules, called the Clean Cars and Truck standards, provide a pathway for New Mexico to shift to a cleaner transportation system that will ensure a healthier and more livable New Mexico for future generations.  

The LEV standards require that automakers deliver new vehicles to New Mexico that emit fewer greenhouse gases and harmful air pollutants. Automakers can implement existing cost-effective technologies for gasoline-powered cars, such as improvements in engines and transmissions and the use of lighter materials. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have already adopted or are in the process of adopting the LEV standard.

The ZEV program ensures that automakers annually deliver more vehicles for sale in New Mexico that approach or achieve zero emissions by being partially or fully electric. The states that have adopted the ZEV program have seen increased electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle availability as a result. 

In 2021 Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham directed the New Mexico Environment Department to start the process of adopting these standards. This initiative includes a public process to establish LEV and ZEV requirements for automakers similar to those already adopted in several states.

The City of Albuquerque joined the effort shortly after the governor’s direction. A joint hearing between the Environmental Improvement Board and the Albuquerque Air Quality Control Board will take place on May 4, 2022, to decide on the future of clean air in New Mexico.

What is New Mexico Clean Cars Clean Air all about?

New Mexico Clean Cars Clean Air includes consumer groups and EV drivers, conservation advocates, businesses and leaders, local governments and elected officials, health voices, frontline communities, and labor representatives.