Northeast

Maine

Maine was the first state to set greenhouse gas reduction targets in 2003, and emissions decreased by 74% between 1990 and 2021. The transportation sector is driving the state’s emissions, primarily due to the geographically spread-out population. Long winters place the residential sector’s emissions closely behind transportation, as buildings require significant heating in the state’s colder months.

GHG Reduction Targets

All targets relative to 1990 levels

2030

45%

2045

Carbon neutral

Governor

Janet T. Mills (Democrat)

House Party

Democratic Majority

Senate Party

Democratic Majority

Legislative session

12/4/24 - 6/18/25

US Climate Alliance Status

Member

Key Offices & Links

26

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 7 policy areas

See all

36

Policy Opportunities

across 6 policy areas

See all

Northeast

9 states

This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Compare with other states

Progress by Policy Area

Enacted Enacted policies have been passed or established in a state by a governing body via legislation, executive orders, rules, regulations, and/or other program creation, and remain in effect.
In-progress In progress policies have been established in a state, but final regulations, rules, or plans are pending final approval. This also includes legislation and executive orders that require regulations to be put into effect.
Partially Enacted Partially enacted policies have been enacted in the state, but are missing one or more policy components. Dashboard policies cannot be considered partially enacted unless policy components are available.
Not Enacted Not enacted policies have not been passed or established in the state or are no longer in effect.

Glossary of Terms

The colored bars indicate the status for each policy on the Dashboard, viewed across seven policy areas.

Status	Policy	Policy Area	Policy Category	Year Enacted
Enacted	Low-Emission Vehicle (LEV) Standards	Transportation	Light-Duty Vehicles	2012
Empty column	Maine LEV Standards	Establishing Policies Department of Environmental Protection Rules, Chapter 127 (2012) Maine LEV Standards
Enacted	Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandates	Transportation	Light-Duty Vehicles	2009
Empty column	Model Year (MY) 2025: 22% of new passenger vehicle sales are ZEVs.	Establishing Policies Chapter 127 Zero Emission Vehicle Standards (2009)
Enacted	Electric Vehicle Rebates	Transportation	Light-Duty Vehicles
Empty column	Efficiency Maine's Electric Vehicle (EV) Incentive Program offers point-of-sale rebates for new EVs: up to $2,000 for battery EVs and $1,000 for plug-in hybrid EVs. Income-qualifying drivers could receive a rebate between $2,500 and $7,500, depending on the vehicle type. As of November 2024, the program is only offering rebates for low-income Mainers.	Establishing Policies Electric Vehicle Incentive Program Electric Vehicle Incentives for Low-Income Mainers
Not Enacted	Low NOx Omnibus Rules	Transportation	Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
Empty column	Low NOx Omnibus Rules establish stringent tailpipe emission standards for heavy duty vehicles, updated testing procedures, and technology-neutral compliance mechanisms to reduce nitrous oxide (NOx) pollution. The regulation must be adopted first by California, and other states may adopt the regulation under the federal Clean Air Act.
Not Enacted	Medium- and Heavy-Duty (MHD) Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandates	Transportation	Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
Empty column	Medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) zero-emission vehicle mandates, also known as "Advanced Clean Trucks", require automakers to produce and sell a certain number of zero-emission MHD vehicles to fulfill a quota based on a percentage of total sales in states.
Not Enacted	Medium- and Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicle (EV) Rebates	Transportation	Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
Empty column	Medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) electric vehicle rebates consist of programs and policies that offer rebates to make MHD electric vehicles more affordable to increase their adoption in a state.
Enacted	Public Fleet Electric Vehicle (EV) Procurement Targets	Transportation	Lead by Example	2022
Empty column	50% of the state’s new light-duty vehicles are plug-in hybrid or ZEVs by 2025 \| 100% are plug-in hybrid or ZEVs by 2030	Establishing Policies LD 1579 (2022)
Not Enacted	Electric Bus Procurement Targets	Transportation	Lead by Example
Empty column	Electric bus procurement targets require that a certain percentage or number of school buses and/or transit buses purchased or leased by the state, transit authorities, and/or school districts must be electric or zero-emissions.
Not Enacted	Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Infrastructure Requirements	Transportation	EV Charging Infrastructure
Empty column	Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure requirements establish mandates for the installation of EV charging infrastructure in new construction or developments, such as residential or commercial buildings, and public parking lots.
Not Enacted	Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Infrastructure Rebates	Transportation	EV Charging Infrastructure
Empty column	Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure rebates offer rebates to make the purchase and/or installation costs of EV charging infrastructure more affordable.
Not Enacted	Electric Vehicle (EV) and EV Charging Infrastructure Plans	Transportation	Transportation Plans and Targets
Empty column	Electric vehicle (EV) and EV charging infrastructure plans are documents that provide a framework to guide the development, coordination, and adoption of EVs and EV charging infrastructure.
Not Enacted	Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets	Transportation	Transportation Plans and Targets
Empty column	Transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets are set by a state to limit emissions in the transportation sector. These targets aim to reduce emissions by specific amounts over time, often expressed as a percentage reduction from a baseline year.
Not Enacted	Low Carbon Fuel Standards	Transportation	Transportation Plans and Targets
Empty column	A low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) is a market-based mechanism to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels and account for the fuel's life cycle greenhouse gas emissions.
Partially Enacted	Bicycle Friendly States	Transportation	Public and Active Transportation
Empty column	Maine is ranked 28th out of 50 in the 2024 Bicycle Friendly State rankings by the League of American Bicyclists.	Establishing Policies Maine Bicycle Friendly State Scorecard	Policy Components enacted enacted enacted not-enacted enacted 4/5

Maine

Key Offices & Links

26

36

Northeast

Progress by Policy Area

Climate Governance and Equity

Cross-Sector

Electricity

Buildings and Efficiency

Transportation

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management

Natural and Working Lands

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Maine

Climate Policies in Maine