On April 21st, 2022, the MI Healthy Climate Plan was introduced, offering a roadmap to a zero-emissions statewide economy by 2050 with an interim goal of 52% emissions reductions by 2030. We are excited and encouraged to see many of our coalition’s priorities included as recommendations in the plan, including:
- Offer purchase incentives for electric vehicles and at-home charging stations, as well as explore incentives for e-bikes and other electric off-road mobility
- Transition the state’s fleet to 100% electric vehicles by 2030 and support municipal, small business, and school district fleets to transition to clean fuel options as well
- Build the infrastructure necessary to support 2 million EVs by 2030
- Adopt a Clean Fuels Standard to reduce the carbon intensity of every fuel
- Increase access to clean transportation options like public transit and electric vehicles by 15% each year
- Support workforce development and job training in electric vehicles and other clean energy industries
Another key component of the plan is a strong commitment to environmental justice by ensuring that 40% of state funding for climate-related initiatives benefits Michigan’s disadvantaged communities.
The introduction of the plan states, “Businesses are increasingly focused on climate and are looking to invest and locate in states that embrace clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and the next generation of transportation.” While this is primarily a climate plan, there will surely be economic, job, and health benefits as a result of these recommendations. Building on our strengths of advanced mobility will help attract innovative companies and safeguard existing mobility jobs.
We commend EGLE for their work in taking stakeholder input seriously. As a member of the Transportation and Mobility working group, Clean Fuels Michigan is pleased to have contributed our coalition’s priorities and expertise to the development of this plan. The Fiscal Year 2023 budget cycle offers us an opportunity to make good on some of these commitments by funding equitable clean mobility programs like fleet conversion at the state and local level, creating an electric vehicle rebate program, and funding workforce training programs.
The report states, “To decarbonize how Michiganders move, Michigan will need to drive a rapid transition to cleaner fuels and electrification, make unprecedented investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, increase access to diverse transportation options, and focus on integrated people- and planet-focused transportation planning.” We couldn’t agree more. Cleaner transportation will benefit us all, and Clean Fuels Michigan will continue to work toward making these policy recommendations a reality.
