Environmental Activists In California Ask Governor Gavin Newsom To Enforce Strict Rules For Promoting Zero-Emissions Vehicles

Tesla is one of the car manufacturers that will benefit from the promotion of environmentally friendly vehicles. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - More than 80 environmental groups and other organizations on Monday, March 7 urged California Governor Gavin Newsom to impose stricter rules on promoting electric vehicles.

They don't care, even though the state's regulations on electric vehicles are considered far more advanced than the efforts of the administration of US President, Joe Biden.

“Califorians who are “punished” by high gas prices and a climate disaster, deserve the fastest electric vehicle future Governor Newsom can provide,” said Scott Hochberg of the Center for Biodiversity's Climate Law Institute, one of the groups that signed the letter. as quoted by Reuters.

The groups want Newsom and California's air and environmental regulations to support more and faster requirements for faster implementation of electric vehicles than currently planned.

In addition, the regulation should also stipulate more stringent annual emission reductions for gasoline-powered vehicles. They call for a 7% annual increase in emission reductions for gasoline vehicles compared to the 5% average, or below the standard adopted under former US President Barack Obama.

Hochberg said Newsom "needed to prove the state's climate leadership with a much faster electrification timeline."

Newsom will deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday, March 8. In 2020, Newsom said the state of California, plans to stop selling new light internal combustion vehicles by 2035.

California accounts for about 11% of all US vehicle sales, and is the state's largest market. Now many other states have adopted their green vehicle mandates.

According to the group, California should have a target of achieving 61% of zero-emission electric vehicle (EV) sales by 2030. President Joe Biden has set a target of 50% of new vehicle sales to be electric or plug-in electric, but has not yet set a date to phase it out. gasoline vehicle sales.

The letter, which was also signed by Greenpeace USA, the California Democratic Environmental Caucus and Friends of the Earth, wants Newsom to consider making 80% or more zero-emissions vehicles mandatory by 2030. Newsom's Governor's Office did not immediately comment on the demands.

In April, the EPA said it was moving to restore legal authority to California to establish stricter vehicle emission rules and zero-emissions vehicle obligations. In 2013, the EPA granted California a waiver for establishing vehicle rules. Under former President Donald Trump, the waiver was lifted in 2019.

EPA spokesman Nick Conger said Monday that the agency "is seeking to finalize a decision on the California waiver and expects to issue a decision in the near future."

Several automakers have raised concerns if the EPA makes the waiver retroactive and its impact on emissions requirements.

The EPA in December finalized a new vehicle emission rule that restored an earlier target, which was scrapped by Trump and required a 28.3% reduction in vehicle emissions by 2026.

Biden's push in Congress to increase the EV tax credit to $12,500 per vehicle and return it for General Motors and Tesla has remained stalled along with other provisions for upgrading EVs.