Some positive climate news for once: NYC’s vehicle fleet is 75% green
Officials showed off New York City government’s growing fleet of climate friendly vehicles at Flushing Meadows Corona Park Thursday, touting a sign of progress toward local and state climate goals
Recent additions to the fleet include four electric paramedic cruisers, which are used to zoom from emergency to emergency, allowing first responders to triage patients while ambulances haul people to hospitals. Also on display was an ambulance that runs on biodiesel and is equipped with a diesel particulate filter, which reduces the vehicle’s emissions by half, compared to old fossil fuel-power ambulances. Nearly all of the FDNY’s 636 ambulances now run on biodiesel.
A local law requires New York City to transition its fleet of light and medium-duty vehicles to electric by 2035. Its trucks must be electric by 2038. Currently, more than 75% of municipal vehicles – or about 21,500 – are either hybrid, electric or running on renewable biofuel, city officials said.
The rapid transition comes as other aspects of the state’s ambitious climate goals have hit significant obstacles due to President Donald Trump’s deregulation agenda.
”We’re trying to electrify the city fleet in all its aspects,” said Keith Kerman, Deputy Commissioner at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. “One of the most difficult, challenging places to do that is going to be in fire services, emergency medical services, [with] extraordinarily complicated equipment [and] very difficult response requirements.”
Two electric FDNY robot dogs also pranced near the unisphere. The electronic canines are dispatched in situations deemed unsafe for humans, such as incidents involving hazardous materials. The robots’ head, FDNY officials said, can turn valves.
Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said the ultimate goal is to eventually rush to emergencies in electric fire trucks.
“Our fleet is a big part of what we are focused on, and getting to emergencies quickly with the most state-of-the-art vehicles is imperative to us,” Tucker said. “We want to be good neighbors of our planet.”