Mayor Nicole LaChapelle has partnered with MoveEV, an AI-driven green tech solution designed to make electric vehicle (EV) adoption accessible and affordable for corporations and municipalities, to make Easthampton the first city, according to the mayor’s office, to offer its employees an electric vehicle adoption benefit and transition all city-owned vehicles to electric vehicles at the same time. Easthampton is working to develop a “Climate Action Plan” to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

Collectively, city employees could claim up to $3 million in federal and state incentives, and save $900,000 on gas annually by switching to EVs. Swapping out these vehicles for clean EV alternatives cuts an average of 4.7 metric tons of carbon dioxide (MTCo2) a year per vehicle and could remove 1,500 MTCo2 annually, the mayor’s office says. For the city’s fleet vehicles, the planned transition over the next 5-10 years should save the city $360,000 a year on gas alone, and will remove 600 MTCo2 annually.

“We are excited to partner with MoveEV to help Easthampton reach our sustainability goals. In a fast-moving industry, this public-private partnership with MoveEV gives Easthampton the technical support necessary to move toward vehicle decarbonization,” said LaChappelle. “Electric car by electric car, the city will see a measurable material impact – environmental and financial – while leveraging government and private incentives.”

The mayor’s office says the need to pursue sustainable and climate-conscious initiatives such as the partnership between Easthampton and MoveEV has been a focus for the Easthampton community since the city council passed a resolution declaring a climate emergency in 2021.