Electric
Now, let’s sit back and wait for the chorus of ‘New York, I love you, but you’re bringing me down’
Another day, another nail in the coffin of the technology that’s put our entire world in a coffin and made us pay for the nails: New York is calling time on internal combustion. And that time is ‘by 2035’. Not 8:35pm in military language – that’d be a bit short of a turnaround – but rather 12 years and 88 days from now.
So that’s the crux of the whole thing. If you’re time poor, you can probably head off now without losing too much in the way of detail or context. If, however, you did want the whole story in a sentence… well, you might be the kind of person who’d appreciate Axios, but we’ll indulge you: all new passenger cars, pickup trucks and SUVs sold in New York must be zero emissions by 2035.
And by New York, we mean the whole state, not just the city – which is why it was announced by the Governor, Kathy Hochul, rather than NYC’s mayor. And as much as we’d love to witter on about synecdoche, followed by the customary ‘but we digress’, we’ll spare you this time.
The regulations fit with New York’s goal of an 85 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across the state by 2050, as well as a more general aim of reducing air pollution, especially in the disadvantaged communities that so often bear the brunt of it. The push for zero-emission vehicles will work alongside similar efforts to reduce emissions beyond the transportation sector, such as a multi-billion investment in renewable energy and a mandated emissions-free electricity grid by 2040.
As befits anything legislative, it’s about as dense and easy to parse as a William Faulkner novel, so unpicking every last bit of it would likely be as soporific as… well, trying to read Faulkner. But in broad strokes (other brush sizes are available), it’s a plan that rather favours the carrot – charging infrastructure, rebates, municipal grants – over the stick. Of particular note is the $2,000 point-of-sale rebate (i.e. immediate discount) on zero-emissions vehicles, which is on top of the $7,500 federal rebate.
Further supporting New York’s electric vehicle push is $175,000,000 in federal funding ‘to establish an EV charging network’, which rather feels like something that should have been a priority for the US Government years ago. Like at least 2018, if not 2016. And we’re just at a loss as to why that didn’t happen then.
With that said, we’re tipping that most New Yorkers who take advantage of this scheme will soon surmise that charging at home is cheaper, simpler, and able to cover their commute – much the same way we did. But if it helps the range-anxious – and demonstrates intent to car manufacturers – then each one is another nail in internal combustion’s coffin.
Keyword: It looks like New York will ban new internal combustion vehicles by 2035