New Mexico Clean Air
Frequently Asked Questions
What problems will the Advanced Clean Cars and Trucks standards address?
The Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Trucks, and Heavy-duty Low NOx Omnibus standards are key tools New Mexico has to reduce and eventually eliminate pollution from cars, buses, pickup trucks, delivery trucks, and semi-trucks. Transportation is the second largest source of climate pollution in New Mexico. Tailpipe pollution impacts 45 million people in the United States.
Full adoption of the Advanced Clean Cars and Trucks Standards would deliver significant public health and climate benefits. In New Mexico, reductions in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) would prevent 158 premature deaths and more than 76,000 cases of respiratory illnesses by 2050, according to an analysis by ERM conducted for the petitioners. Greenhouse gas pollution would fall by between 111 and 139 million metric tons by 2050. That’s about as much greenhouse gas pollution the state emits in a year, making the standards one of the most effective climate policies ever adopted in New Mexico.
What are the details of the standards?
Advanced Clean Cars (ACC II)
The ACC II program will gradually require car manufacturers to sell an increasing amount of zero-emission electric vehicles and reduce pollution from gas vehicles sold in the interim. These requirements will increase annually to encourage technological growth beyond business as usual and contain flexible credits to help automakers comply with the sales requirements. The program also includes new standards for tailpipe emissions that gradually ramp up over time and reduce toxic pollution from gas-burning cars. Full ACC II adoption could save New Mexicans $591 per household annually through 2050. The rule could reduce the average resident’s dependence on gas by 50%, promoting more stability in monthly bills.
Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT)
The ACT program reduces harmful pollutants—particularly greenhouse gases—by establishing annual electric truck sales requirements that vary by vehicle type and gradually increase over time. ACT requires 30-50% of new sales to be zero emission in 2030 and 40-75% by 2035.
Heavy-duty Low NOx Omnibus (HDO)
The HDO program would significantly reduce smog-forming pollution from new trucks with combustion engines by strengthening the standards for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulates. It would require engine testing and encourage the adoption of cleaner technologies, ensuring all New Mexicans have access to healthy air.
Why Is It Urgent that States Adopt Advanced Clean Cars and Trucks Standards ASAP?
It benefits automakers and residents for states to adopt these standards no later than 2023. Why? New Mexico would allow automakers to voluntarily comply with the rule for the first year, as it wouldn’t apply until model year 2027. Bottom line: adopting no later than 2023 to get more zero-emission electric vehicles on the road faster is good for public health, good for our local economies, and necessary for a stable climate.
What infrastructure is available or being developed to make EV charging more accessible?
New Mexico is a leader when it comes to installing EV charging infrastructure. In 2019, the New Mexico Legislature passed the EV Infrastructure Act, requiring utilities to support charging stations around the state in single-family homes and multi-unit dwellings, with significantly increased incentives (up to $2,500) for low-income New Mexicans to upgrade home electrical and install high-speed chargers. The Public Regulatory Commission accepted utilities’ first plans at the end of 2021, and they are now being implemented, with incentives of up to $50,000 for commercial and public charging stations around the state.
In addition, New Mexico was the first state to submit a plan to use $38 million in federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding to install charging stations around the state. The first phase ensures charging stations within every 50 miles along interstate highways in New Mexico (this prioritization was required in the federal grant). The second phase of the five-year plan focuses on tribal and rural roads.
Charging at home is incredibly easy! Currently, every EV comes with a home charger that will work on any 110 outlet. That will charge the vehicle, but it is slow! How slow depends on the vehicle type and the existing level of charge.
Under ACC II, all EVs will come with a Level 2 charger for a quicker home charge. These have to be plugged into a more powerful electrical outlet – like the ones used for clothes dryers. Some homes can easily upgrade their garage or outside outlets to accommodate these Level 2 chargers; others will have to upgrade their electrical panel.
Either way, for single-family homes, home charging is easy. For multi-family housing, it may be easier to access appropriate outlets if the development has installed appropriate options for tenants. Multi-family charging is a priority for many funding programs to address this issue.
What rebates or tax credits are available for EVs and EV chargers?
Rebates and tax credits are available for purchasing electric vehicles or installing a home charger. Learn the details at 350NM’s Electrify New Mexico website.
Why should states adopt these rules when the EPA adopts similar rules at the federal level?
The federal standards set a baseline for emissions that may increase the overall supply of clean vehicles as manufacturers produce more to meet the EPA rule’s “fleet average” emission requirements. State standards go further by requiring a certain percentage of clean vehicles to be sold in each state annually. All states will benefit from the reduced tailpipe emissions from the federal rules, but only by adopting the state standards can a state guarantee that electric vehicles will be available for purchase in their state, locking in significant emission reductions and increasing consumer choice of clean vehicles. Learn more.
What is New Mexico Clean Air all about?
New Mexico Clean Air is all about finding and implementing climate solutions that increase opportunities for all New Mexicans. We are consumer groups, EV drivers, conservation, social justice, and environmental justice advocates, businesses and leaders, local governments and elected officials, public health experts, frontline community members, and labor representatives. We recognize that New Mexico has many opportunities to address widespread air pollution and the impacts of climate change, and we believe Advanced Clean Cars and Trucks standards are an essential and timely step forward.