The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.
Matt Cannon is the state conservation and energy director for the Maine Sierra Club.
Clean air should not be controversial. Exposure to air pollution is known to cause and worsen asthma, lung disease and cancer. Whether it’s wildfire smoke or extremely hot, smoggy days, it’s clear the climate crisis is threatening the health of our air and our communities. Recognizing the urgency of our climate crisis, Maine has adopted a bold climate goal to reduce Maine’s emissions 45 percent by 2030.
In order to mitigate the impact of climate change and clean up harmful air pollution, we must act now to cut our transportation emissions and accelerate the transition to zero-emissions across the sector. Out of all the sectors in Maine, transportation is the most polluting, accounting for nearly half of all greenhouse gas emissions in the state. Currently, the Maine Department of Environment (DEP) is considering two life-saving programs that will clean up Maine’s transportation: the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) and Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) program. Both rules set gradually increasing zero-emission sales targets for new vehicle sales with different targets for different classes of vehicles.
Clean air advocates have praised the ACC II and ACT, and the huge benefits to the state if Maine were to adopt them. By cutting harmful tailpipe pollution, Maine will generate billions in health and economic benefits. The American Lung Association estimates that if Maine were to transition to clean energy generation and power from 2020-2050 the state would generate $4.5 billion in health benefits, avoid 31,000 lost work days and avoid 402 premature deaths.
Despite strong anticipated economic and health benefits to the state, transportation interests are organizing seemingly to confuse regulators and the public about the details of the programs. The Mainers for Smart Energy (MfSE) coalition and the Maine Motor Transport Association (MMTA) are publicly pushing to delay life-saving clean air progress in Maine. The MMTA has boasted about their success in pushing back the ACT in the past. We cannot let polluters delay clean air once again.
The ACT and ACC II programs are economically and technologically feasible and important for our health. That’s why so many of our neighbors on the east coast have already adopted them. Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York have all adopted both rules. The reality is that the states that are the earliest adopters of modernized clean car standards will have the earliest access to new EV models, and the fastest pass through of new vehicles to the secondary market.
The fossil fuel and manufacturing industry appears more interested in protecting their big profits than protecting public health. It appears their goal is to continue Mainers’ and the country’s dependence on their polluting product when we are already overburdened with air pollution and the impacts of climate change. It’s unsettling to see this opposition out in force in our beloved state. But as long as the Maine DEP doesn’t fall for their fear tactics, the agency will continue to see overwhelming support for these rules from community members, clean air advocates, health experts and business leaders.