Dear Climate Action Council Member,
On behalf of the Clean Fuels NY Coalition, the signatories listed below respectfully ask you to include a Clean Fuel Standard (CFS), also known as a Low Carbon Fuel Standard, in the list of policy tools recommended to be included in the Climate Action Plan to meet the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s (CLCPA) emission reduction requirements as they relate to transportation.
Below is the Coalition’s response to the NY Renews '“False Solutions” Report:
“While our coalition supports the goal of aggressively moving towards zero emission and other low-carbon sources of energy for the transportation sector, we respectfully disagree with the findings of this report. We believe a clean fuel standard will actually accelerate transportation electrification more quickly while providing near-term alternatives to continued reliance on fossil fuels, including petroleum based diesel and gas. A clean fuel standard requires the polluting fossil fuel industry to pay for the transition to New York’s clean energy future. It will ensure we have the resources to fund a clean energy future without raising taxes on working people and cuts air and climate pollution. We must ensure the industry that led us into the climate crisis is held responsible for getting us out of it – that is what a clean fuel standard accomplishes.”
On Thursday, January 28, members of the Clean Fuels NY Coalition held a lobby day to meet with legislators urging them to support a clean fuel standard in the budget. To accommodate the virtual setting of the lobby day, the Coalition released a video to explain how a clean fuel standard would benefit the state.
Clean Fuel Standards like the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) have been around for more than a decade but have not attracted the attention of more narrowly targeted policies promoting electric vehicles, biofuels, or renewable power.
Earlier this month California utilities launched the California Clean Fuel Rewards Program, a statewide point-of-sale electric vehicle rebate program worth up to $1,500 per vehicle (depending upon battery size). This program is funded by credits from California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), which are quickly becoming a major source of support for transportation electrification, complementing other state climate and clean air programs.
On Tuesday, November 10, members of the Clean Fuels NY Coalition representing more than 1,600 entities sent over 50 letters of support to Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders urging them to support a clean fuel standard and include the proposal in the Fiscal Year 2022 Executive Budget proposal.
In our national discussion, there has been talk of the various approaches to cleaner and more sustainable fuels. NYC Fleet has over 25 years of practical experience and implementation of greener and cleaner fuel alternatives. Today, nearly 20,000 fleet units use some form of cleaner fuel alternative including natural gas, hybrids, biofuels, electric vehicles, and even solar-powered equipment units. In our fleet today, these alternatives are all in operation, working in tandem to achieve a cleaner and more reliable fleet.
