Zero-emissions push could go into overdrive
Brown wants $2.5 billion for rebates, charging stations
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown wants to put 5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2030, and to reach that goal he proposes spending $2.5 billion to extend customer rebates for buying the cars and build 250,000 charging stations.
In an executive order signed Friday, the termed-out governor laid out the ambitious plans he said are needed to curb carbon pollution as the state continues to push automakers to offer cars that don’t produce tailpipe emissions. Transportation-related
pollution accounts for 50 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and are a significant hurdle to reaching the state’s climate change goals.
“This executive order aims to curb carbon pollution from cars and trucks and boost the number of zero-emission vehicles driven in California,” Brown said in a statement Friday.
Brown’s proposal will need the approval of the Legislature. The bulk of the funding — $1.6 billion — would come from the state’s cap-and-trade program, while $900 million would come from California Energy Commission revenue.
California law calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, then cutting them another 40 percent by 2030. A tenet of the state’s climate change policies is its cap-andtrade program, which requires companies to buy permits for excess greenhouse gases they emit. That creates billions in revenue for the state to invest in clean-air projects, such as the zero-emission vehicle plan.
The state previously set a 2025 goal of selling 1.5 million zero-emission cars, which includes electric cars and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. But Brown raised the stakes in his State of the State speech Thursday, when he said he wanted the target to be 5 million by 2030.
“We think that is a very reasonable proposal,” said Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board. “It’s not a stretch.”
California leads the country with 350,000 zero-emission vehicles on the road, up from 25,000 six years ago. Driving that increase, Nichols said, are state rebates that put the vehicles within reach of all Californians.
Under Brown’s proposal, the state would extend its rebate program another eight years to offer customers up to $5,000 for hydrogen electric vehicles and $1,500 for plug-in hybrids. An additional $2,000 rebate is available to lowincome drivers.
If approved, the state would build 250,000 vehicle-charging stations and 200 hydrogen refueling stations with the help of private partnerships. The state currently has about 14,000 public charging stations and 31 hydrogen refueling stations.
Nichols said that as more people see electric vehicles in their communities — including the SUVs and light trucks on the market — demand will increase.
Lawmakers and state regulators have spent years trying to drive customers toward zero-emission vehicles to clean the air. Last year, Nichols said, Brown expressed interest in banning cars that burn fossil fuels. Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, introduced a bill this month that would require every new passenger vehicle sold after Jan. 1, 2040 to be zero-emission.
Tom Steyer, a billionaire environmentalist and Democratic mega-donor, commended Brown’s proposal, saying it is the right move for a climate leader like Brown.
“He’s kicking it into high gear in his last year in office,” Steyer said. “Investing in clean, zero-emission transportation is crucial to protect Californians’ clean air and water, create good-paying, clean-energy jobs, and cement our state’s position as a global climate leader.”