Representative Susan Wild and Mack Trucks leaders joined advocates calling Congress to invest in clean vehicles, charging infrastructure, and more. This event is sponsored by the Lehigh Valley Sustainability Network as part of a $10 million grassroots campaign conducted throughout August and September in 12 states to demand ambitious investments in clean energy, environmental justice, and climate solutions organized by the Climate Action Campaign.
Speakers thanked Representative Wild (PA-07) for fighting for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, now titled the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to include clean vehicle investments as well as the Build Back Better Budget. These investments are needed to cut pollution as well as create jobs, address environmental injustice, and tackle the climate crisis. Further, the transportation sector accounts for almost a third of all US air pollution; it is the single largest source of climate-harming carbon pollution in the nation. Investments in zero-emission, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are essential for reducing Pennsylvania’s air pollution and fighting climate change in the process.
Representative Wild says it is critical to invest in innovative, clean transportation and infrastructure. She says she is proud that Pennsylvania’s 7th District prioritizes energy and infrastructure investments, creating jobs and fighting climate change. “I look forward to further tackling this issue by supporting historic investments in electric vehicles, clean energy transmission, and EV infrastructure,” Wild says.
INVESTING IN THE COMMUNITY
Jonathan Miller, Volvo Group North America senior vice president of public affairs, says the Volvo Group is delivering on its commitment toward 100% fossil-free sales by 2040. This is possible through the launch of zero-emission vehicles like the Mack LR Electric refuse truck. Miller says that a partnership across all stakeholders is crucial to achieve a more sustainable ecosystem. He says creating infrastructure, grants and incentives, and other investments will drive battery-electric, heavy-duty truck adoption for a cleaner future.
Further, public polling has found that these investments are popular in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District. Eighty-seven percent of voters in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District support investments to rebuild roads and bridges and modernize public transportation to ensure it is cleaner and able to serve more people. Seventy-six percent of voters in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District support addressing the challenge of climate change by shifting to greater use of clean energy as well as reducing carbon pollution from vehicles and trucks.
Andrea Wittchen, president of the Lehigh Valley Sustainability Network, says the network advocates the development and deployment of all EVs. The effort pushes toward “reducing pollution, improving public health, and fighting the dangers of climate change,” Wittchen says. The Build Back Better Budget must provide the investment necessary to move toward those goals quickly, Wittchen says. “The Network also supports the creation of good clean energy jobs that this sort of investment will provide,” Wittchen continues. “We cannot wait any longer to make these vital commitments to our children’s future.”
Find out more, visit www.macktrucks.com.
