Logo for Earthjustice's Right to Zero campaign.

For the sake of our lungs and our climate, it’s time to build the future we want.

Imagine a world with zero emissions. Zero lung damage from trucks, buses, and cars spewing filth into the air.

Imagine a world with zero emissions. Zero air pollution in our homes from burning methane gas to cook and heat.

Imagine a world with zero emissions. Zero greenhouse gasses that cook the planet and destabilize our climate.

Illustration of electrification of buildings, vehicles, heat pumps, and stoves.

James Olstein for Earthjustice

To tackle our climate and air pollution challenges, we have to electrify everything and power it all with 100% renewable energy.

A transition that once seemed impossible even a decade ago is now reshaping our lives.

We are driving electrification everywhere from the buses, cars, and trucks on our streets, to the stoves, appliances, and heaters in our homes, and the boilers, ovens, and dryers in our factories.

To tackle our climate and air pollution challenges, we have to electrify everything and power it all with 100% renewable energy.

A transition that once seemed impossible even a decade ago is now reshaping our lives.

We are driving electrification everywhere from the buses, cars, and trucks on our streets, to the stoves, appliances, and heaters in our homes, and the boilers, ovens, and dryers in our factories.

Hannah Bennet for Earthjustice

Man standing in the kitchen, watching recipe on laptop and preparing a healthy meal on an electric induction stove.

Astarot / Getty Images

Green truck driving on road next to water.

Dennis Schroeder / NREL

Taylor Thomas of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, in an electric truck outside of a California Air Resources Board public hearing to consider proposed Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation on Oct. 27, 2022 in Sacramento California.

Chris Jordan-Bloch / Earthjustice

Ringo Chiu via AP

Marc A. Hermann / MTA

Earthjustice attorney Yasmine Agelidis speaks at a rally for electric school buses outside the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters in 2022

Hannah Bennet for Earthjustice

A technician wearing a protective welding mask works on building the frame of an electric bus.

Courtesy of BYD

Michael Penn for Earthjustice

An inside wall unit to a heat pump system

Michael Penn for Earthjustice

Mack Trucks

Students board a school bus outside New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (NEST+m) school on the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, in New York.

Brittainy Newman / AP

Altogether, dirty combustion in our transportation sector, our buildings, the industrial sector, and our power sector pumps out an astounding 89% of the U.S.’s greenhouse gas emissions.

For the sake of our lungs and our climate, it’s time to build the future we want.

89%

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The Right To Zero campaign — first launched in California in 2017, and since expanded to New York, the D.C. region, and beyond — is working to accelerate this clean energy, clean air transition. From cars and buses to kitchens and living rooms, from industrial plants to ports and our power grid, the change has begun, and we’ll all feel the benefits.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

July 2017

LA Metro commits to electrifying all of its public transit buses by 2030.

Map of the United States, with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

May 2018

San Francisco commits to electrifying its public transit buses by 2025.

Map of the United States, with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

May 2018

California approves a blueprint to invest nearly $1 billion in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles large and small.

Map of the United States, with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

August 2018

California passes SB 100, new legislation to shift the state’s entire energy grid to 100% clean energy by 2045.

Map of the United States, with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

December 2018

California passes the Innovative Clean Transit Rule to electrify all public transit buses in the state by 2040.

Map of the United States, with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

July 2019

New York passes its landmark climate law, reducing emissions and steering the state towards electrification that runs on clean energy.

Map of the United States, with the state of New York highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

June 2020

California passes the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, the first zero-emissions trucks rule in the nation.

Map of the United States, with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

June 2020

California passes the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, the first zero-emissions trucks rule in the nation. As of Jan. 2024, adopted by 10 states

Map of the United States, with states adopting the ACT Rule highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

June 2020

California passes the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, the first zero-emissions trucks rule in the nation. As of Jan. 2024, adopted by 10 states, with another 6 states and D.C. agreeing to adopt.

Map of the United States, with states agreeing to adopt the ACT Rule highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

August 2020

California passes the At-Berth Rule, shifting polluting ships to plugging into shoreside electricity, rather than running on diesel and bunker fuel

Map of the United States, with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

April 2021

A lawsuit against the largest proposed warehouse project in the world results in a $47 million settlement to electrify its operations in Southern California.

Map of the United States, with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

May 2021

Southern California passes the Warehouse Indirect Source Rule to electrify mega warehouses.

Map of the United States, with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

August 2021

California passes the nation’s first building code that establishes electric heat pumps as baseline technology for buildings.

Map of the United States, with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

March 2022

California adopts the Commercial Harbor Craft rule to electrify ferries, tugboats, and harbor boats.

Map of the United States, with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

August 2022

California adopts the Advanced Clean Cars II regulation, shifting all car sales in the state to zero emissions by 2035.

Map of the United States, with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

August 2022

California adopts the Advanced Clean Cars II regulation, shifting all car sales in the state to zero emissions by 2035. As of Jan. 2024, adopted by 11 additional states.

Map of the United States, with states adopting the Advanced Clean Cars II regulation highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

September 2022

California ends subsidies for new methane gas lines to homes as it eyes an electric future and climate-friendly construction.

Map of the United States, with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

December 2022

The U.S. Postal Service commits to electrifying most of its mail truck fleet.

Map of the United States.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

March 2023

The San Francisco Bay Area passes a first-in-the-nation regulation to shift all appliance sales to zero emissions between 2027 and 2031.

Map of the United States with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

April 2023

California passes the In-Use Locomotive Rule to shift all rail operating in the state to zero emissions.

Map of the United States with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

April 2023

California passes the Advanced Clean Fleets rule, the state’s second zero-emissions trucks rule.

Map of the United States with the state of California highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

May 2023

New York passes the All Electric Buildings Act, the first state legislation to shift all new buildings to zero-emissions appliances.

Map of the United States with the state of New York highlighted.

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

July 2023

Southern California adopts a first-in-the-nation rule to electrify food manufacturing.

Map of the United States with the state of California highlighted.

July 2017

LA Metro commits to electrifying all of its public transit buses by 2030.

July 2017

May 2018

San Francisco commits to electrifying its public transit buses by 2025.

May 2018

May 2018

California approves a blueprint to invest nearly $1 billion in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles large and small.

May 2018

August 2018

California passes SB 100, new legislation to shift the state’s entire energy grid to 100% clean energy by 2045.

August 2018

December 2018

California passes the Innovative Clean Transit Rule to electrify all public transit buses in the state by 2040.

December 2018

July 2019

New York passes its landmark climate law, reducing emissions and steering the state towards electrification that runs on clean energy.

July 2019

June 2020

California passes the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, the first zero emissions trucks rule in the nation. (As of Jan. 2024, adopted by 10 states, with another 7 states agreeing to adopt.)

June 2020

August 2020

California passes the At-Berth Rule, shifting polluting ships to plugging into shoreside electricity, rather than running on diesel and bunker fuel.

August 2020

April 2021

A lawsuit against the largest proposed warehouse project in the world results in a $47 million settlement to electrify its operations in Southern California.

April 2021

May 2021

Southern California passes the Warehouse Indirect Source Rule to electrify mega warehouses.

May 2021

August 2021

California passes the nation’s first building code that establishes electric heat pumps as baseline technology for buildings.

August 2021

March 2022

California adopts the Commercial Harbor Craft rule to electrify ferries, tugboats, and harbor boats.

March 2022

August 2022

California adopts the Advanced Clean Cars II regulation, shifting all car sales in the state to zero emissions by 2035. (As of Jan. 2024, adopted by 11 additional states.)

August 2022

September 2022

California ends subsidies for new methane gas lines to homes as it eyes an electric future and climate-friendly construction.

September 2022

December 2022

The U.S. Postal Service commits electrify most of its new mail truck fleet.

December 2022

March 2023

The San Francisco Bay Area passes a first-in-the-nation regulation to shift all appliance sales to zero emissions between 2027 and 2031.

March 2023

April 2023

California passes the In-Use Locomotive Rule to shift all rail operating in the state to zero emissions.

April 2023

April 2023

California passes the Advanced Clean Fleets rule, the state’s second zero emissions trucks rule.

April 2023

May 2023

New York passes the All Electric Buildings Act, the first state legislation to shift all new buildings to zero emissions appliances.

May 2023

July 2023

Southern California adopts a first-in-the-nation rule to electrify food manufacturing.

July 2023

Follow along and see how we’re creating a zero-emissions reality from coast to coast. We won’t just imagine a zero-emissions future. We’re already building it.

We have a right to zero emissions, and we’re ready.

Zero is here.

Zero emissions technology is here today. We don’t need to wait. The biggest hurdle we face is political paralysis that favors the old, polluting ways of doing things.

Zero means good health.

Burning fossil fuels is literally killing us. A 2021 Harvard study estimated that just the particulates in fossil fuel pollution kill over 10 million people worldwide each year. It’s time to give communities a breath of clean air.

Zero means jobs.

Clean energy jobs already outnumber fossil fuel jobs across the nation. From manufacturing to maintenance and installation, clean energy is growing family-sustaining jobs that will drive our economy.

Zero is for the earth.

The extreme weather we’ve seen lately, with lives and livelihoods turned upside down by wildfires, storms, floods, and droughts worsened by climate disruption, reminds us that we don’t have time to waste.

What does zero emissions look like?

This transition is about the public transit buses that move millions of people every day, the large trucks that would otherwise spew tons of toxic diesel fumes into the air, the mail trucks delivering mail in every neighborhood, and the school buses that take our kids to class. It’s rail and port transportation and all the ways we move people and goods around our communities and across our nation.

A bus connected to an overhead charger on a city street.

An electric bus at charging station in New York City. (Marc A. Hermann / MTA)

The Right To Zero campaign launched with a focus on electrifying public transit buses in California — first with a successful campaign urging LA Metro to commit to zero emissions buses, and then a statewide regulation to electrify all public transit buses. It's become critical for advocates to build bold and unrelenting campaigns that shape emerging regulations, as fossil fuel industry voices have increasingly turned their lobbying resources to these proceedings.

Supporters of electric zero-emission school buses take part in a rally outside the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters on Nov. 15, 2022. The event was organized by the Los Angeles County Electric Truck and Bus Coalition.

Supporters of electric zero-emission school buses take part in a rally outside the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters on Nov. 15, 2022. (Hannah Benet for Earthjustice)

We’re already beginning to see benefits of our work on the ground, with the first transit agency in the nation to electrify its entire fleet already here, and cities like New York and D.C. investing in electric public transit. We’ve since expanded our campaign to shift almost every kind of vehicle to zero emissions, including a critical fight to electrify the nation’s fleet of postal trucks.

(Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)

These changes aren’t limited to passenger vehicles. From the worst polluting freight trucks on the road, to the refrigerated trucks that bring shipments of milk and ice cream to your supermarket, to the locomotives on tracks through your neighborhood, to the tugboats and other vessels that keep our ports running, clean, electric technology is replacing dirty diesel.

Margaret Gordon of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project has worked for years to clean up the air in West Oakland, Calif.

Margaret Gordon of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project has fought for years to clean up the air in West Oakland, Calif., from toxic diesel pollution. (Chris Jordan-Bloch / Earthjustice)

People across this country burn dangerous amounts of fossil fuels in our homes for heating and cooking, degrading our indoor air and increasing rates of asthma and other lung diseases. We don’t need to: better technology exists now.

A heat pump install in Juneau, Alaska.

Cody Galletes, left, Sonny Ashby and Robby Brian, of Alaska Plumbing and Heating, install a heat pump onto its stand at a home as Andy Romanoff, executive director of Alaska Heat Smart, right, watches in Juneau, Alaska. (Michael Penn for Earthjustice)

Electric heat pumps provide powerful, efficient home heating and cooling with one appliance and no side of dangerous emissions. Modern induction stoves emit none of the harmful nitrogen oxides of gas stoves, and they’ve eliminated the drawbacks of older electric stove models from decades ago — indeed, a growing number of professional chefs prefer induction cooking to methane gas.

Stainless steel cooking pot and pan on induction stove in modern kitchen. (Gabriel Albu / Getty Images)

Early waves in California, led by cities to ensure new housing is built with nonpolluting appliances, have now grown into an all-electric building movement from coast to coast with local and state level leadership. New York has recently taken charge with a landmark law to cut costs and save lives with all-electric new construction. We’re hard at work in California, New York, and Maryland to shift our homes and buildings to modern appliances.

We’re also busy tackling sectors long considered difficult to decarbonize in order to cover glaring gaps in the climate landscape — namely the industrial sector, which is responsible for nearly a quarter of U.S. climate pollution. To that end, we won a victory in Southern California with a trend-setting regulation to electrify commercial food manufacturing operations.

We don’t just want to shift our transportation sector and buildings to zero emissions solutions. We want to run it all on a renewable energy grid too.

David Brosch, President of the University Park Community Solar, LLC, stands in front of a 22 kilowatt solar electric array atop the roof of the University Park Church of the Brethren in University Park, Maryland Monday May 4th, 2015. The solar panels on top of the church produces an estimated 25% more energy than the church needs per year.

David Brosch, President of the University Park Community Solar, LLC, stands in front of a 22 kilowatt solar electric array atop the roof of the University Park Church of the Brethren in University Park, Md. The solar panels on top of the church produces an estimated 25% more energy than the church needs per year. (Matt Roth for Earthjustice)

As we electrify homes, offices, and factories, we need to ensure that electricity production is clean, and growing more clean power programs like the landmark community solar program in Maryland, fighting proposed gas plants in California to replace them with clean energy options, and championing landmark legislation to set 100% clean energy targets will help get us there.

Oxnard resident celebrate in front of the Mandalay Generating Station in Oxnard, CA. The location was set to be the site of the Puente Power Station, a proposed natural gas power plant.

Oxnard resident celebrate in front of the Mandalay Generating Station in Oxnard, CA. The location was set to be the site of the Puente Power Station, a proposed gas power plant. (Chris Jordan-Bloch / Earthjustice)

This also means avoiding distractions created by the fossil fuel industry as it tries to delay the inevitable. Boondoggles like dirty hydrogen projects, carbon capture and storage, or “renewable natural gas” waste money and accomplish little other than maintaining profits for companies selling dirty fuels.

The transition also means shifting energy planning in states, and beginning to chart out the end of the methane gas distribution system, which must be trimmed back as households shift away from gas and onto modern electric appliances. This means scrutinizing utilities’ long-term plans and budgets for spending ratepayer money, and sunsetting subsidies for methane gas to ensure we stay on track for an electric future. The end result will clean our air, protect our lungs, and safeguard our climate.

An electric vehicle charges at a fast charging station in Detroit on Nov. 16, 2022.

An electric vehicle charges at a fast charging station in Detroit on Nov. 16, 2022. (Paul Sancya / AP)

Publications & Resources

Reports

Featured

The Myth of “Renewable Natural Gas” for Building Decarbonization

A report by Earthjustice and Sierra Club highlights the gas industry’s deceptive efforts to keep our homes and buildings tethered to gas combustion.

Featured

Reclaiming Hydrogen for a Renewable Future: Distinguishing Oil & Gas Industry Spin from Zero-Emission Solutions

A report from the Right To Zero campaign scrutinizes claims about hydrogen and delves into how to deploy it as a meaningful climate solution.

Key Partners

California

Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice

Central Coast Alliance United for A Sustainable Economy

Central Valley Air Quality Coalition

Clean Air Now KC

Climate Health Now

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

IBEW Local 11

Jobs to Move America

LA County Electric Truck & Bus Coalition

Leadership Counsel

Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma

Moving Forward Network

NRDC

Pacific Environment

People’s Collective for Environmental Justice

Sierra Club

Union of Concerned Scientists

West Long Beach Association

West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project

D.C.

Chesapeake Climate Action Network

DC Coalition to Reduce Asthma & Lead

DC Environmental Network

Empower DC

Extinction Rebellion

NAACP DC Chapter – Environmental Justice Committee

Sierra Club – DC Chapter

Ward 3 Democrats

New York

Alliance for a Green Economy

Building Decarbonization Coalition

El Puente

ElectrifyNY Coalition

Environmental Advocates NY

Jobs to Move America

Long Island Progressive Coalition

New York City Environmental Justice Alliance

New York Communities for Change

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest

New Yorkers for Clean Power

NRDC

PUSH Buffalo

Red Hook Initiative

Rewiring America

Sane Energy

Sierra Club

Tri-State Transportation Campaign

UPROSE

Urban Green Council

WE ACT for Environmental Justice

Win Climate

Maryland

350 Montgomery County

Cedar Lane Environmental Justice Ministry

Center for Progressive Reform

Chesapeake Climate Action Network

Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility

Climate Communications Coalition

Climate Law & Policy Project

Climate Mobilization Montgomery County

Climate Reality Greater Maryland

Elders Climate Action Maryland

Green & Healthy Homes Initiative

Howard County Climate Action

Indivisible Howard County MD

Interfaith Power & Light (DC, MD, No.VA)

Maryland Energy Advocates Coalition

Maryland League of Conservation Voters

Maryland PIRG Foundation

MLC Climate Justice Wing

National Consumer Law Center

Sierra Club - Maryland Chapter

Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Maryland

March 14, 2024

Canary Media

Is CARB staff blocking reform at California’s clean transport program?

“It feels like the shots are being called behind the scenes. What we heard from the board was pretty unambiguously, ​‘We’d like to see this tightened up.’”

Article by Jeff St. John

March 13, 2024

The Orange County Register

After protests, SoCalGas scales back plans to test hydrogen energy at UC Irvine

“SoCalGas’ hydrogen project threatens to increase lung-searing pollution in a community already breathing some of the most polluted air in the country.”

Article by Brooke Staggs

March 12, 2024

Canary Media

California’s biofuel bias is hampering its EV future. Can that change?

“We’ve got to eliminate our reliance on combustion. The program as designed will continue to provide lucrative incentives for combustible fuels well into the future. The stakes are very, very high.”

Article by Jeff St. John

Sign up for the Zero News is Good News newsletter to learn about the movement to electrify everything — from transportation to buildings to the power grid. While this transition might have seemed impossible a decade ago, there’s real progress towards zero emissions happening today. Follow along to hear about success stories, news from our partners, and more.

Photo credits (Slideshow at top): Adrian Martinez of Earthjustice, with USPS mail trucks (Hannah Bennet for Earthjustice). Yasmine Agelidis of Earthjustice speaking at an electric bus rally (Hannah Bennet for Earthjustice). Cooking on an induction stove (Getty Images). Electric transit bus in Los Angeles (Ringo Chiu via AP). Taylor Thomas of EYCEJ in an electric truck (Chris Jordan-Bloch / Earthjustice). Manufacturing an electric bus (Courtesy of BYD). Heat pump inside a home in Juneau (Michael Penn for Earthjustice). A school bus in New York City (Brittainy Newman / AP). Electric heavy duty truck (Dennis Schroeder / NREL). Homeowner with their newly installed heat pump in Juneau (Micheal Penn for Earthjustice). Electric garbage truck (Courtesy of Mack Truck). Electric transit bus in New York City at a charging station (Marc A. Hermann / MTA).