Clean Car Advocates Submit Nearly 14,000 Comments of Support

Minnesotans for Clean Cars coalition members submitted nearly 14,000 comments supporting the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s proposed Clean Cars Minnesota rule. The comments came from across the state and expressed support for the rule for health, economic, environmental, and consumer reasons.

Members of MNIPL’s community submitted 550 of those signatures. About 200 included personal reasons why they, as a person of faith and conscience, are advocating for Clean Cars MN.

If enacted, this rule will reduce tailpipe emissions from new cars and light-duty trucks (primarily gasoline-fueled). It will also increase the number of clean electric vehicles for sale. These new car and truck standards will clean our air, provide more consumer choice, and save Minnesotans money. The Administrative Law Judge is expected to issue a ruling later this spring or early summer.

In Minnesota, consumers are often denied the full complement of electric vehicles available for purchase in other states. A 2019 study found that there were just 19 models of electric cars available in Minnesota compared to 43 total models available. The MPCA’s proposal will help remedy this lack of choice. 

Last month, General Motors announced it intends to sell only electric cars and trucks by 2035. More automakers are following suit. Minnesota can be in the vanguard of states adopting these standards and cement its place as a leader in the rapidly growing clean energy economy. 

The push for more consumer choice around electric vehicles comes at a time when Minnesota is also falling further and further behind its climate pollution goals. Cars and trucks on Minnesota roads are the #1 source of climate change-causing pollution in our state and nationally. 

Source: Press release issued by Minnesotans for Clean Cars, March 16, 2021