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California will aim to put five million zero-emission cars on its roads by 2030 under an executive order signed Friday by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown.
The new policy is a considerable expansion of the state’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions produced by vehicles, and will likely result in millions of new electric vehicles on the roads.
The move comes as Mr. Brown prepares to leave office after eight years, and is pushing to secure his legacy on the environment and burnish his image as a global leader on climate change.
Mr. Brown highlighted the goal during his annual state of the state address on Thursday.
“Zero emission, the sooner the better,” Mr. Brown said during his speech. “To meet our ambitious goals, we will need five million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2030. Think of all the jobs that will create and how much cleaner our air will be.”
The executive order makes the goal a stated policy, and directs agencies to work with the private sector to accomplish it.
Because of the size of California’s market, its transportation regulations have a large impact on national policy and auto makers.
California regulators and Trump administration officials met to discuss for the first time the prospect of changes to vehicle-emissions rules for cars that burn fossil fuels, the Journal reported this week.
Mary Nichols, the head of the air-resources board, which sets tailpipe emissions rules that are followed by many other states, traveled to Washington on Monday to meet with U.S. officials about the regulations, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.
Current federal rules, set during the Obama administration, require auto makers to cut emissions enough so vehicles sold average more than 50 miles a gallon by 2025. That requirement is a contributing factor to companies now investing billions of dollars in developing electric vehicles.
The state already has about 350,000 zero-emission vehicles on its roads, including electric cars, according to the California Air Resources Board. There are 334,000 plug-in hybrids and 348,000 pure electric vehicles for a total of 682,000 light vehicles with plugs in operation in the U.S., according to Edmunds.
Mr. Brown signed an order in 2012 calling for 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on California roads by 2025.
The Friday order proposes an eight-year $2.5 billion initiative that will include vehicle rebates, as well as building 250,000 vehicle-charging stations and 200 hydrogen fueling stations by 2025.
The widespread availability of such stations has been one stumbling block for the industry.
“This executive order aims to curb carbon pollution from cars and trucks and boost the number of zero-emission vehicles driven in California,” Mr. Brown said Friday.
Subsidies have also helped auto sales in California and elsewhere as electric cars remain more expensive than those that run on gasoline.
California’s current rebate of up to $2,500 for cleaner vehicles also “shows that legislators recognize there has to be some kind of subsidy in place to achieve these targets,” said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst for Edmunds, adding that “shoppers still need some kind of a carrot beyond just driving green.”
Industry sources reacted positively.
“We’re pleased to see that Governor Brown’s committed to an ambitious program to develop desperately needed infrastructure and a consistent incentive program that will give customers the confidence and encouragement to purchase zero-emission vehicles,” said Wade Newton, of the Auto Alliance.
Tesla , Inc., which has a factory in Fremont, Calif., said the move was a good one for the electric-car market, and that the announcement underscores the governor’s support of “good-paying jobs in the state.”
The state hopes to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, one of the most ambitious targets in the world. Scientists say such gases are a major contributor to climate change.
With such stringent targets, the state has long been weighing a transformation of the auto market as a key to meeting its goals.
The transportation sector accounts for about 50% of the state’s greenhouse-gas emissions and 80% of the pollution that forms smog in the state, the governor’s office said.
The state air-resources board has estimated that more than four million such vehicles would be needed to meet its emissions-reductions targets.
The governor on Friday proposed that some of the funding for his new zero-emissions-vehicle initiative come from the state’s cap-and-trade auction revenue.
California’s cap-and-trade program requires businesses here to obtain permits for greenhouse-gas emissions such as carbon dioxide.
On Friday, the governor’s Department of Finance on Friday will detail a new plan for investing $1.25 billion in proceeds generated from the state’s cap-and-trade program, the governor’s office said.
source: Wall Street Journal
The new policy is a considerable expansion of the state’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions produced by vehicles, and will likely result in millions of new electric vehicles on the roads.
The move comes as Mr. Brown prepares to leave office after eight years, and is pushing to secure his legacy on the environment and burnish his image as a global leader on climate change.
Mr. Brown highlighted the goal during his annual state of the state address on Thursday.
“Zero emission, the sooner the better,” Mr. Brown said during his speech. “To meet our ambitious goals, we will need five million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2030. Think of all the jobs that will create and how much cleaner our air will be.”
The executive order makes the goal a stated policy, and directs agencies to work with the private sector to accomplish it.
Because of the size of California’s market, its transportation regulations have a large impact on national policy and auto makers.
California regulators and Trump administration officials met to discuss for the first time the prospect of changes to vehicle-emissions rules for cars that burn fossil fuels, the Journal reported this week.
Mary Nichols, the head of the air-resources board, which sets tailpipe emissions rules that are followed by many other states, traveled to Washington on Monday to meet with U.S. officials about the regulations, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.
Current federal rules, set during the Obama administration, require auto makers to cut emissions enough so vehicles sold average more than 50 miles a gallon by 2025. That requirement is a contributing factor to companies now investing billions of dollars in developing electric vehicles.
The state already has about 350,000 zero-emission vehicles on its roads, including electric cars, according to the California Air Resources Board. There are 334,000 plug-in hybrids and 348,000 pure electric vehicles for a total of 682,000 light vehicles with plugs in operation in the U.S., according to Edmunds.
Mr. Brown signed an order in 2012 calling for 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on California roads by 2025.
The Friday order proposes an eight-year $2.5 billion initiative that will include vehicle rebates, as well as building 250,000 vehicle-charging stations and 200 hydrogen fueling stations by 2025.
The widespread availability of such stations has been one stumbling block for the industry.
“This executive order aims to curb carbon pollution from cars and trucks and boost the number of zero-emission vehicles driven in California,” Mr. Brown said Friday.
Subsidies have also helped auto sales in California and elsewhere as electric cars remain more expensive than those that run on gasoline.
California’s current rebate of up to $2,500 for cleaner vehicles also “shows that legislators recognize there has to be some kind of subsidy in place to achieve these targets,” said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst for Edmunds, adding that “shoppers still need some kind of a carrot beyond just driving green.”
Industry sources reacted positively.
“We’re pleased to see that Governor Brown’s committed to an ambitious program to develop desperately needed infrastructure and a consistent incentive program that will give customers the confidence and encouragement to purchase zero-emission vehicles,” said Wade Newton, of the Auto Alliance.
Tesla , Inc., which has a factory in Fremont, Calif., said the move was a good one for the electric-car market, and that the announcement underscores the governor’s support of “good-paying jobs in the state.”
The state hopes to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, one of the most ambitious targets in the world. Scientists say such gases are a major contributor to climate change.
With such stringent targets, the state has long been weighing a transformation of the auto market as a key to meeting its goals.
The transportation sector accounts for about 50% of the state’s greenhouse-gas emissions and 80% of the pollution that forms smog in the state, the governor’s office said.
The state air-resources board has estimated that more than four million such vehicles would be needed to meet its emissions-reductions targets.
The governor on Friday proposed that some of the funding for his new zero-emissions-vehicle initiative come from the state’s cap-and-trade auction revenue.
California’s cap-and-trade program requires businesses here to obtain permits for greenhouse-gas emissions such as carbon dioxide.
On Friday, the governor’s Department of Finance on Friday will detail a new plan for investing $1.25 billion in proceeds generated from the state’s cap-and-trade program, the governor’s office said.
source: Wall Street Journal
