WHAT YOU CAN DO

You can help slow climate change and reduce air pollution, when you purchase a new vehicle. You can make a choice that improves our air quality and global climate.

Because petroleum produces more greenhouse gases and air pollutants than electricity generation, especially given New Jersey’s relatively clean electricity sector, the state must take further concrete steps to start to phase out motor gasoline and conventional diesel consumption as quickly as possible by electrifying the transportation sector, reducing reliance on vehicles, and increasing mass transit ridership.

In New Jersey, the transportation sector accounts for 37% of the state’s net greenhouse gas emissions, making it the largest emissions source in the state. Mobile sources are also the largest cause of ozone precursors in New Jersey, responsible for 71% of the state’s nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, as well as particulate matter. Ground level ozone, also called smog, can cause permanent lung damage.

Importantly, according to USEPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), all 21 counties in New Jersey are in moderate or marginal non-attainment for ground-level ozone standards. Emissions from cars and light-trucks also account for about 30% of the total hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen emission in the air that contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone or “smog” during the summer months.