New York City - Tuesday saw the launch of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Challenge, a new challenge led by The Climate Group and C40 Cities, whose goal is to drive zero emission vehicles.

This initiative has the support of Mexico City, New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Milan, Rome, Copenhagen, Medellin, California, Pittsburgh, the Australian Capital Territory, The California Air Resources Board, Unilever, LeasePlan, EDF Energy and Plugin America.

ZEV Challenge will witness how states, regions, cities and international companies take advantage of the influence they have on the market and politics to exponentially accelerate the incorporation of electric vehicles around the world.

These leaders in favor of "zero emissions" urge the automotive industry around the world to commit to accelerate and increase the manufacture of electric vehicles in order to meet a growing demand from companies, cities, states and regions. It is the first time that some of the states, regions, cities and largest companies in the world have come together to show the automotive industry the large real volume of demand for electric vehicles that exists. The ZEV Challenge brings together international programs that already existed, but until now focused on isolated sectors, in order to increase their collective purchasing power and their influence in the market.

In addition to combining the purchasing power of previous commitments, Zero Emission Vehicle Challenge encourages other leaders of key collectives to step forward and join the initiative:

Automotive sector: Car manufacturers are urged to show their willingness to move towards the eradication of vehicles with combustion engines and to commit to a specific percentage of sales of ZEV vehicles by the year 2025.

"The time has come to set a deadline for combustion engines and to accelerate the transition to vehicles whose emissions do not pose a threat to health or contribute to climate change. And we want automotive companies to help us achieve that goal," Helen Clarkson, executive director of The Climate Group, said at an event in New York.

Business: Multinationals are encouraged to join EV100, an initiative of The Climate Group in which major companies are committed to achieving two fundamental objectives: fleets of electric vehicles by 2030 and refueling infrastructures for EV.

States and regions: States and regions are invited to join the recent initiative in favor of zero-emission vehicles of the Under2 Coalition, which has the collaboration of the ZEV Alliance and focuses mainly on acquisitions, infrastructures and regulations.

Some of the most important cities in the world are already showing their support.

"We must accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles in Latin America," said José Ramón Amieva, mayor of Mexico City. "Car manufacturers have the possibility to offer clean alternatives at much more competitive and economic prices in order to accelerate the technological transition in the use of fossil fuels and improve air quality in cities. The mayors of C40 have committed to implement concrete actions related to zero-emission mobility and Mexico City is already working to create the first electric bus corridor in the country and one of the first in Latin America."

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio explained: "By living in a coastal city, New Yorkers are aware of the very dangerous threat posed by climate change, which is why we have been at the forefront of this struggle to achieve the objectives of the Paris climate agreement and we are developing the necessary infrastructure to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, we are proud to collaborate with cities around the world to face a global problem together."

"The citizens of Paris and other cities around the world demand to be able to breathe a clean air said Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris and president of C40. "The mayors of the most important cities in the world are transforming the way citizens move around the city giving priority to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users through initiatives such as the Declaration of Green and Healthy Streets of C40. I urge automakers to take advantage of this opportunity and help us achieve a sustainable future by accelerating the transition to electric vehicles."

ZEV Challenge offers the most important agents in the automotive sector the opportunity to position themselves as leaders in the large-scale transition to electric vehicles, to increase the speed with which we approach a future free of emissions and to play a leading role in when reaching the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

Several countries, such as France and the United Kingdom, have already set a deadline for the sale of vehicles with gasoline or diesel engines. States like California have committed to circulating 5 million zero-emission vehicles on their roads and highways by 2030.

"We encourage other cities, states and companies around the world to have a significant fleet of cars and trucks to join this initiative to circulate on the roads and highways of all the countries of the world tens of millions of vehicles of zero emissions," Clarkson added.

About the C40 City Climate Leadership Group

Cities C40 is a network that unites 96 of the most important cities in the world, which in turn represent more than 650 million citizens and a quarter of the world economy. The initiative, created and led by cities, aims to combat climate change and promote urban initiatives that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and climate-related hazards, as well as improve the health, well-being and economic situation of the cities. citizens. The current president of C40 is the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and the president of the board of directors is the three times mayor of the city of New York Michael R. Bloomberg. The achievements of C40 would not be possible without the help of our three strategic sponsors: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and Realdania. If you want to know more about the work of C40 and our cities, visit c40.org.