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Équiterre applauds the new regulation on zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) made at the end of 2017 by the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, Isabelle Melançon. According to government projections, this new ZEV standard will ensure that by the year 2025, 10% of new-vehicle sales or rentals will consist of zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) or low-emission vehicles (LEV).
AN IMPORTANT STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Although Quebec boasts nearly 40% of Canadian sales of electric vehicles (EV) and the province is fertile ground when it comes to the use of EVs, these sales represent a paltry 1.25% of the total number of vehicles sold. In Iceland, EVs’ share of total sales is 9%, while in Norway it is nearly 40% (read Sidney Ribaux's blog post on the electric revolution in Norway, in French only.) China, for its part, has announced an 8% requirement starting next year.
Équiterre welcomes this Quebec initiative, but with all the things we have going for us, in terms of both hydroelectric power and corporate expertise, this objective should be at least 50%.
❯ Learn more in the Op-Ed of Equiterre's Executive Director, Sidney Ribaux, on the subject
CANADA MUST TAKE THE ELECTRICAL TURN
The rest of Canada combined accounts for only 0,59% of EV sales; it can and must
do better. Canadians still lack access to the entire range of EVs found in the United
States, especially in California as well as nine other American states that have a law
on the books requiring that a set percentage of all automobile manufacturers’ sales
consist of zero-emission vehicles. The EVs we can buy here in Canada are available
only in very limited quantities, and the waiting lists are long. On the heels of
Quebec’s announcement on its ZEV standard, certain models of EVs, such as the
electric Chevrolet Focus, will be available only in Quebec, making the EV sales gap
with the rest of Canada that much wider.
To express your support for these measures, go to: https://evchoice.ca/en/
Visit EV Choice (Electric Vehicules) website
The ZEV Standard in the News :
- Francis Vailles from La Presse « Écolo désespérée cherche auto électrique » (in French)
- Article sur le site de Radio-Canada « Plus de véhicules électriques, moins de pollution : Québec présente sa norme zéro émission »
- Watch TVA Nouvelles « Crédits pour la vente de véhicules électriques : Québec va de l’avant » (in French)
- Article in La Presse « Québec veut plus de véhicules électriques et impose la Norme zéro émission » (in French)
- Sidney Ribaux blog post in journal Metro « La Norvège n'est pas parfaite, mais elle est sur la bonne voie » (in French)
- Report by Équiterre : Accelerating the transition to electric mobility in Canada - The case for a zero-emission vehicle mandate, Report published on May 29 2017
TVA Nouvelles on the ZEV Standard (French only).
