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"Californians being punished by high gas prices and climate
disasters deserve the fastest all-electric future Gov. Newsom
can deliver," said Scott Hochberg of the Center for Biological
Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, one of the groups signing the
letter.
The groups want Newsom and California air regulators to back
requiring more electric vehicles faster than the current plans
and to set more stringent annual emissions reductions for
gasoline-powered vehicles. They called for 7% annual increases
in emissions reductions for gasoline vehicles compared with 5%
on average under standards adopted under President Barack Obama.
Hochberg said Newsom "needs to prove the state’s climate
leadership with a much faster electrification timeline.”
Newsom is set to deliver his State of the State address on
Tuesday. In 2020, Newsom said the state planned to phaseout the
sale of new light duty internal combustion vehicles by 2035.
California accounts for about 11% of all U.S. vehicle sales, the
biggest individual state market, and many states adopt its green
vehicle mandates.
California aims to reach 61% zero emission electric vehicle (EV)
sales by 2030, the groups noted. President Joe Biden has set a
goal of 50% of new vehicle sales being electric or plug-in
electric, but has not endorsed a date to phaseout
gasoline-vehicle sales.
The letter
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org
/programs/
climate_law_institute/transportation
_and_global_warming/fuel_
economy_standards/pdfs/Clean-Cars-Letter-to-Gov-Newsom-March-2022.pdf,
also signed by Greenpeace USA, the California Democratic Party
Environmental Caucus and Friends of the Earth, want Newsom to
consider requiring 80% or more zero emission vehicles by 2030.
Newsom's office did not immediately comment.
In April, the EPA said it was moving to restore legal authority
to California to set tough vehicle emission rules and
zero-emission vehicle mandates. In 2013, the EPA granted
California a waiver to set vehicle rules. Under former President
Donald Trump, it revoked the waiver in 2019.
EPA spokesman Nick Conger said Monday the agency is "working to
finalize a decision on the California waiver and expects to
issue a decision in the near future."
Some automakers have raised concerns if the EPA makes the waiver
retroactive and the impact it could have on emissions
requirements.
The EPA in December finalized new vehicle emissions rules
restoring targets undone by Trump and require a 28.3% reduction
in vehicle emissions through 2026.
Biden's push in Congress to boost EV tax credits to up to
$12,500 per vehicle and reinstate them for General Motors and
Tesla remains stalled along with other provisions to boost EVs.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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