FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2019
Contact: Ed Potosnak
O: (609) 331-9922
C: (732) 991-7574
New Jersey LCV Statement on Governor Murphy's Partnership to Plug-In and Recent DEP Announcement on the Volkswagen Settlement Monies
TRENTON, NJ – Ed Potosnak, Executive Director of New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, released the following statement today on the announcement of a State Interagency Electric Vehicle Partnership and Volkswagen Settlement Funding:
"In New Jersey, transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and a major contributor to asthma and cancer-causing local air pollution. Electric vehicles directly improve local air quality because EVs are upward of 79% cleaner fossil fuel vehicles.
We applaud Governor Murphy’s recent actions to establish a statewide EV program, 'Partnership to Plug-In,' which is critical to New Jersey’s goal of getting 330,000 zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025.
This first of its kind program will help make New Jersey the Greenest State in America by incorporating multiple agencies to develop and map a statewide charging infrastructure plan, installing signing on roads, partnering with municipalities to create local solutions, as well as ensuring we meet our ZEV goals by 2025, using mechanisms such as rebates to guarantee that we get there."
The DEP has taken another big step in the right direction with their recent unveiling of the second round of Volkswagen Settlement monies, which will focus on electrifying our ports and urban air quality, particularly in environmental justice communities who suffer from an undue disproportionate burden of air pollution.
"New Jersey League of Conservation Voters is especially pleased to see the electrification of school buses in Trenton. It is so important to protect the health of young students who are most vulnerable to the effects of toxic fumes. All in all, today was a great day for New Jerseyans and a great day for the environment, and we applaud Governor Murphy and his administration for ensuring that New Jersey is a national-leader and the most innovative state addressing the climate crisis."
New Jersey League of Conservation Voters is a non-partisan organization whose mission is to elect environmental champions, hold public officials accountable, and support laws which protect our environment and improve the quality of people’s lives.
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