Nine national, regional, state and city-level governments signed up to Climate Group’s newly launched initiative ZEV Pledge. The ZEV Pledge asks governments at all levels, as well as individual departments, agencies and public sector bodies, to pledge to convert their entire owned or leased fleets, where feasible, to zero-emission vehicles.

This should be achieved as soon as possible and no later than the following target dates:

• Buses by 2030
• Two- and three-wheelers by 2030
• Light-duty vehicles (4+ wheels) by 2035
• Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2040

The nine initial commitments to the ZEV Pledge collectively represent 121,355 vehicles on the road, with nearly a third of these being medium- or heavy-duty vehicles.

The signatories and their commitments:

• Province of British Columbia: 100% zero-emission light-duty vehicles (4+ wheels vehicles) by 2035; 100% zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2040

• State of California: 100% zero-emission buses by 2030; 100% zero-emission light-duty vehicles (4+ wheels vehicles) by 2035; 100% zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2040

• State of Jalisco: 100% zero-emission buses by 2030

• State of New York: 100% zero-emission light-duty vehicles (4+ wheels vehicles) by 2035; 100% zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2040

• City of New York: 100% zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2040

• Province of Québec: 100% zero-emission light-duty vehicles (4+ wheels vehicles) by 2035; 100% zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2040

• Scottish Government: 100% zero-emission light-duty vehicles (4+ wheels vehicles) by 2035; 100% zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles by 2040

• UK Government: 100% zero-emission light-duty vehicles (4+ wheels vehicles) by 2027

• State of Washington: 100% zero-emission light-duty vehicles (4+ wheels vehicles) by 2035; 100% zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2040

Fleet vehicles—those owned or operated by a business, government agency or other organization—globally make up a quarter (24%) of vehicles on the road, yet contribute to more than half (56%) of road transport emissions. As a result, recent analysis by Climate Group and SYSTEMIQ has found that faster electrification of fleets could deliver transformational benefits, including saving the equivalent annual emissions of India by 2030—the world’s third highest emitter.

Notable support for the ZEV Pledge comes from California, Washington and New York. In addition to signing the ZEV Pledge, the Governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, ratified the state’s commitment of moving to an all-electric fleet by 2035 by announcing it as an executive order.

Climate Group’s launch of the ZEV Pledge for public fleets follows the successful growth of its corporate leadership initiative, EV100, which focuses on building business demand for electric vehicles (EVs). Today, 120 multinational companies with some of the world’s largest fleets are now part of EV100, including BT Group, LeasePlan and Siemens. Altogether they’re committed to transitioning more than 5.4 million light-duty vehicles to electric by 2030. More than 9,400 locations will also have charging infrastructure installed, making it easier for both businesses and individual consumers to transition to EVs.