Maine has turned down a series of proposed mandates regarding the sale of electric vehicles in the latest blow to climate activists.

The Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) rejected the so-called Advanced Clean Cars program after locals expressed their opposition to the policy. Under the proposals, EVs must account for at least 51 percent of new car purchases by 2028 and 82 percent by 2032. 

Opponents of the proposal pointed out that the move was particularly unwise given the state's economy and geography and warned that consumers would end up shouldering the cost. Maine Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart said in an interview that he was concerned about EV performance in cold weather: 

The Maine Board of Environmental Protection received nearly 1,800 comments from the people of Maine and nearly 84% were not in favor of this EV mandate. 

Maine is far too rural with far too few charging stations, and many Mainers are also concerned about the reliability of these vehicles in our extreme cold-weather months.

“I’ve talked with many of my nearly 8,400 constituents who would love to have efficient vehicles to drive in an effort to be more environmentally friendly but they just cannot afford them,” added Republican Rep. Jack Ducharme, according to the AP. “Mandating them either in the case of trucks or passenger vehicles will not change that dynamic.”

Democratic State Rep. Jared Golden also expressed opposition to the plan, citing the challenges faced by his constituents in his heavily rural congressional district.

"Affordable transportation is a requirement, not a luxury, in rural Maine," Golden wrote on the X platform. "Regulations must recognize reality: California-style emissions standards would impose logistic and financial hurdles that Maine isn’t ready to clear. The state BEP made the right decision to reject them."

Affordable transportation is a requirement, not a luxury, in rural Maine.

Regulations must recognize reality: California-style emissions standards would impose logistic and financial hurdles that Maine isn’t ready to clear. The state BEP made the right decision to reject them.

— Congressman Jared Golden (@RepGolden) March 20, 2024

Golden's mention of California is a reference to the state's efforts to force through a transition to EVs by banning gas-powered vehicles entirely by 2035.

The rejection will come as a major blow to the state's Democratic Governor, Janet Mills, who has repeatedly stated that tackling the "climate crisis" is one of her top priorities. 

We must, and we will, continue to address climate change in the long-term, for the health of our people, the health of our environment, and the health of our economy.

— Governor Janet Mills (@GovJanetMills) January 31, 2024

The move will also come as a blow to the wider EV industry, which has experienced a major downturn over the past year. Even mainstream media outlets such as CNBC are now admitting that "EV euphoria is dead" and that the world's largest car manufacturers are drastically scaling back their plans. 

"Now the hype is dwindling, and companies are again cheering consumer choice. Automakers from Ford Motor and General Motors to Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Jaguar Land Rover, and Aston Martin are scaling back or delaying their electric vehicle plans," the outlet noted last month.

The New York Times also reported in February that the Biden administration was giving up on many of its EV production targets after realizing they were both unrealistic and politically unpopular.