California Air Resources Board proposes new clean car standards to help eliminate pollution by 2035
With a proposal of new Advanced Clean Car II Standards this week, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) seeks protective limits on harmful air pollution, stronger sales requirements for zero-emitting vehicles, and equitable sharing of those vehicles’ benefits.
The effort advances the state’s larger goal of eliminating pollution from new cards and passenger trucks by 2035. The strengthened sales requirements alone would guarantee that 68 percent of new cars and trucks sold in California emit no pollution by 2030. Additionally, all tailpipe pollution from such vehicles would be eliminated by 2035.
“Emissions from motor vehicle engines hurt public health, welfare, the environment, and the climate in multiple interrelated ways,” CARB staff wrote in their initial statement. “Reducing emissions of one kind supports reducing emissions of others and contributes to decreasing the severity of their impacts.”
Data provided by CARB and other researchers has shown such efforts could bring numerous benefits to Californians, including billions of dollars of cumulative net benefits – $194 billion according to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) – and more than 1.2 billion tons of climate pollution. Benefits include both pollution reductions and avoided fuel costs.
“The proposed standards are one of the most consequential state actions ever taken to reduce climate pollution,” Alice Henderson, EDF senior attorney, said. “When adopted, these historic standards will reduce harmful air pollution and save thousands of lives, save Californians hard-earned money at the gas pump, strengthen domestic energy security, and create American jobs.”
The new car standards will be considered at a hearing on June 9, 2022, likely followed by a second hearing – and vote – on the subject in August.
