NGOs and Health Experts Call on New York City to Get Municipal Fleets Off Diesel

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May 16, 2018, 04:53 ET

NEW YORK, May 16, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On the eve of New York City Council executive budget hearings, Energy Vision and other NGOs and prominent health experts called on the City to stop buying heavy-duty diesel vehicles for its municipal fleets, and adopt superior alternatives that are available today. Specifically, they ask the City and MTA to:

Stop allocating funds for purchase of new heavy-duty diesel trucks and MTA diesel buses now.
Focus new heavy-duty vehicle purchases on the best diesel alternatives. Natural gas models, equipped with ultra low-emission Near Zero engines running on renewable natural gas (RNG) fuel made from organic wastes, are the cleanest, lowest carbon, and most cost-effective.
Make the necessary capital expenditures on infrastructure and fleet garage modifications to support implementation of these alternatives.

The NGO Energy Vision today sent to the City Council and publicly released a new report, Ending the Diesel Era: Cleaner Fleets for a Healthier New York City making the case for getting off diesel and adopting RNG.

Diesel exhaust is a major source of climate-changing and health damaging emissions, and triggers asthma attacks afflicting 13.3% of New York City's children. London has already stopped procuring new diesel vehicles; other major cities are restricting or eliminating them. Many U.S. heavy-duty fleets have converted to RNG. Nationwide, 60% of refuse trucks on order are natural gas models which can run on RNG.

New York City's municipal fleets have yet to adopt RNG. They continue to rely on diesel heavy-duty vehicles, and their budgets call for buying more in the years ahead.

"That deserves to end now," said Joanna Underwood, founder and board member of Energy Vision, "and the budget process could help make it happen. The City Council could play a leadership role by framing its budget guidelines so they encourage City agencies to seize the opportunities they have to deploy better alternatives."

Those endorsing Energy Vision's report and joining the call to get NYC fleets off diesel include former NYC Deputy Mayor and former Department of Sanitation (DSNY) commissioner Norman Steisel, former DSNY commissioner Brendan Sexton, Cecil Corbin-Mark of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, Marcia Bystryn of the New York League of Conservation Voters, Dr. Philip J. Landrigan of Mt. Sinai, Kevin R. Cromar, Ph.D. of NYU's Urban Air Quality Program, and actor Blythe Danner.

Read the full version of this release here.

Contact: Stephen Kent, [email protected] 914-589-5988

SOURCE Energy Vision