California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont joined with the District of Columbia to sign a statement of intent today to develop an action plan to accelerate the deployment of zero-emission trucks and buses.

The initiative is led by the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

“Our states recognize that nearly all new motor vehicles need to be electric by 2050 to achieve the necessary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,” the statement reads. “Therefore, transportation electrification is a key climate action strategy and a top air quality priority for our states.”

The next step is for the governors of those states to agree to a Memorandum of Understanding to form a strategy to accelerate the zero-emission truck market.

“It is our intention to present a proposed memorandum of understanding to the governors of the undersigned states and the mayor of the District of Columbia for consideration in the summer of 2020,” the statement continues.

The statement comes as CARB holds its first meeting to consider a proposed Advanced Clean Trucks regulation that would establish sales and reporting requirements for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. CARB is expected to consider the regulation for adoption next year.

“Trucks are increasingly a major contributor to air pollution nationwide, but especially in our cities where they are among the largest sources of toxic emissions in vulnerable neighborhoods,” said CARB chair Mary D. Nichols in a statement. “We need to design a regulatory program that gets to the heart of this problem. We will move farther faster in partnership with other states who share the same commitment to cleaning up trucks and protecting public health.” 

Related: Is California Actually Ready for Electric Commercial Trucks?