Transportation
The Bumper Crop of New State Climate Policies Since July.
State governments aren’t sitting on their hands. Far from it. The pace of climate action is picking up.
State climate policy is a big deal. State governments began cutting emissions at a time when the federal government was essentially doing nothing about climate change. Since then, more states have become involved, and state policies have become more aggressive. it’s not for nothing that 2023 has been called a banner year for state climate …
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CONTINUE READINGHow are California Cities Planning for the EV Transition?
Some leaders are emerging, but plenty of room for more equity-centered programs
With California’s 2035 zero-emissions vehicle transition target now just over a decade away, state and local leaders face an urgent need to ensure that sufficient electric vehicle charging infrastructure is available to meet the needs of all drivers. Electrified vehicles constituted nearly a quarter of all new sales in 2023, but publicly accessible chargers still …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Year in California Climate Laws
Looking back at California’s 2023 legislative session, our new environmental laws represent a solid step forward—bigger than expected.
If 2022 was a Rivian with all the bells and whistles, this past year was more a Ford Lightning. After a landmark 2022—a record $54 billion committed to climate spending and legislation that codified the state’s goals of carbon neutrality by 2045 and 90 percent clean electricity by 2035—a significantly gloomier budget forecast gave rise …
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CONTINUE READINGFour EV Trends
One of these things is not like the others.
The automotive world is changing quickly. Most of the trends are mutually reinforcing. But one points in the opposite direction. The first and most obvious trend is the rise of EVs. In the twenty years since Tesla arrived, EVs have gone from 0.2% of new cars to 13%, and Bloomberg predicts that this figure will …
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CONTINUE READINGHow to Get to Zero Emissions at the Ports
A new report by UCLA and UC Berkeley examines policy solutions to accelerate deployment of zero-emission cargo handling equipment at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are well on their way toward electrification, but the road to zero emissions is a long one. This new report—A Heavy Lift: Policy Solutions to Accelerate Deployment of Zero-Emission Cargo Handling Equipment at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and Beyond—surveys the biggest obstacles to …
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CONTINUE READINGLivestock Operations Are Responsible for Over Half of California’s Methane Emissions—Why Won’t CARB Regulate Them?
CARB will have the authority to regulate methane from livestock operations beginning in January but has not initiated rulemaking
At a recent California Air Resources Board (CARB) meeting, a staff member responded to a question about why CARB’s program for reducing emissions from transportation fuels incentivized the capture of methane from landfills so much less than the capture of methane from dairies: “Landfills have a different CI [carbon intensity] score because they are …
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Climate Policy: A Preliminary Report Card
It’s a bit complicated, but California definitely has made substantial progress.
We all know that California’s climate policies have led the nation. But how well have these policies actually worked? That’s not as easy to answer as you might think. You have to do some digging to come up with the numbers, and their meaning isn’t always completely clear. If you compare California with the country …
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CONTINUE READINGGov. Newsom Goes to China to Talk Climate
Here’s what Newsom will see, say, and do on his China trip. He should also be listening for what California can learn from China.
We’re learning more about what Gov. Gavin Newsom will see, say, and do on his trip to China. All told, Newsom is slated to visit 6 cities in 5 provinces, including Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Shanghai—where he’s signing a new climate agreement. He plans to meet with representatives from the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and the …
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CONTINUE READINGReading the Tea Leaves: Biden’s and California’s Vehicle Regs at the D.C. Circuit
A leading environmental lawyer gives his perspective.
Transportation is now the source of 28% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, more than the electric power sector. The transportation sector is also a substantial source of nitrogen oxides and particulates, both of which are dangerous to human health. The Biden Administration has taken important regulatory actions bearing on these problems, with others in the …
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CONTINUE READINGVehicle Regulations on Trial
Three big cases in the D.C. Circuit will determine the fate of Biden’s vehicle regulations.
This week, the D.C. Circuit hears three cases challenging use of federal regulations to push adoption of electric vehicles and to allow California to forge path toward zero-emission cars. If all three cases go badly, the regulatory system would be disabled from playing a role in this area. This would be a huge setback, though …
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