Hey there,

I’m checking back in to make sure you saw Julia’s email last week. It covers Oregon’s incredible opportunity to reduce emissions from the largest source of air pollution in our state: transportation. The comment period for adoption of the Advanced Clean Cars II Rule closes this Friday at 4:00 PM, so we need you to submit a public comment asking the Environmental Quality Commission to adopt this rule and get more zero-emission vehicles on our roads.

Gas-powered cars and trucks are the number one source of greenhouse gas pollution in the state of Oregon. We must adopt the clean cars rule to guarantee the sale of only new zero-emission cars by 2035 to bring those levels down––not only to protect our climate, but to improve air quality for all Oregonians. 

Send a message before the public comment period ends (this Friday!) urging the EQC to adopt the new clean cars rule!

Thank you,

Will Bertellotti

Communications Coordinator, OLCV

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Dear John,

This December, our state has a massive opportunity to reduce pollution. Soon, Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) will vote on whether or not Oregon should adopt the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) rule. This might sound familiar to you because several months ago we urged you to take action and push California to adopt this rule. Well, California adopted the rule, putting the state on track to eliminate the sale of new gas cars and sell only new zero-emission vehicles by 2035. Now, we need your help to ensure Oregon does the same!

Oregon’s EQC just opened a public comment period giving you and other members of the public a chance to tell them you support adopting the clean cars rule. But, the comment period closes on Oct. 21st, so we only have a limited time to speak up! Can we count on you to send a message asking them to adopt the clean cars rule?

Transportation is the largest source of pollution in Oregon, making up 40% of the state’s total emissions–– with the majority of that pollution generated by personal cars and trucks. Vehicle exhaust spews carbon and toxic chemical pollutants into our air, which are linked to higher rates of cancer, heart disease, and other serious health conditions. In fact, the American Lung Association gave our state failing scores for air quality in nearly every county they recorded data. We can’t accept unhealthy, polluted air as the standard in Oregon – we need your help to urge the EQC to adopt the clean cars rule and guarantee cleaner air for our state.

As we stand, low-income and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) communities – the same communities that often live in areas with higher pollution levels – have the hardest time accessing clean cars. Thankfully, there are provisions to improve access to zero-emission vehicles through reduced, affordable pricing for emission-free vehicles and community mobility programs built into the clean cars rule, which will make sure there is equity in zero-emission transportation for Oregon.

The clean cars rule will strengthen Oregon’s tailpipe emissions standards and gradually reduce pollution by increasingly phasing electric, zero-emission vehicles onto our roads. This means that 100% of new cars and trucks sold in Oregon will be emission-free by 2035– a shift that would remove 54.1 million metric tons of vehicle pollution from the air we breathe. In other words, this rule is the single best tool and chance Oregon has to dramatically slash transportation pollution levels in our state. We need you to take action and urge Oregon’s EQC to follow California’s lead in adopting the clean cars rule for our state.

Thank you,

Julia DeGraw
Coalition Director, OLCV