On November 16, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission of the Department of Public Health and Environment approved new low emission vehicle (LEV) standards for new light-duty and medium-duty motor vehicles sold in Colorado beginning in the 2022 model year. The new standards are estimated to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly two million tons annually by 2030.
“Adopting low emission vehicles in Colorado means we will continue to see more fuel efficient vehicles that get better mileage. This has been the plan for many years,” said Governor John Hickenlooper. “I applaud the commitment of the Air Quality Control Commission and the Air Pollution Control Division to protect the quality of our air and safeguard against returning to the days of the ‘brown cloud’.”
The Air Pollution Control Division proposed the adoption of the LEV standards in response to. Hickenlooper’s June 19 executive order Maintaining Progress on Clean Vehicles, which directed the department to develop a rule to establish a Colorado LEV program incorporating the requirements of the California LEV program.
Following public hearings, the commission unanimously approved the new standards. The commission adopted Regulation 20, known as the Colorado Low Emission Automobile Regulation (or CLEAR), prompting Colorado to join 12 other states and the District of Columbia that also have adopted California’s LEV standards. These states now make up nearly 40 percent of the new automobile market.
For more information, see the AQCC webpage.
