CA’s Clean Miles Standard Can Benefit Environment, Ridehailing Drivers- If Companies Step Up
Elizabeth Irvin, | May 14, 2021, 11:29 am EDT
On May 20th, CARB will vote on the Clean Miles Standard, a first-of its kind regulation that would require ridehailing companies like Uber and Lyft to electrify their fleets by 2030. If approved, the Clean Miles Standard would cut pollution in cities across California by requiring that 90% of ride hailing miles traveled take place in electric vehicles by 2030, and that ridehailing companies cut their greenhouse gas emissions to zero grams per passenger mile on the same timeline.
This standard has the potential to be a win for the environment and for drivers. On the environment side, the rule reduces both greenhouse gases and air pollution. UCS analysis finds that ride-hailing trips are 69% more polluting than the trips they replace and a non-pooled Uber or Lyft ride is 47%
California Takes the Next Step Towards Ensuring Cleaner Cars and Trucks D. Reichmuth/UCS
David Reichmuth, Senior vehicles engineer | May 7, 2021, 10:16 am EDT
On Thursday, California’s air quality regulator, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), released the first draft of their plan to ensure all new passenger cars and trucks are electric drive by 2035. The proposed Advanced Clean Cars 2 program would update existing Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) regulations and gradually require all car companies to increase the fraction of electric-drive vehicles they sell in the state. The proposed rules also contain new provisions to protect buyers of used electric vehicles and has rules to reduce the amount of harmful air pollution allowed from gasoline vehicles.
Clean Energy Policy Is Heating Up in Illinois Kenneth Keifer/Shutterstock
Jessica Collingsworth, Energy policy analyst | April 23, 2021, 11:41 am EDT
Energy legislation is heating up in Springfield. Several energy bills from a variety of stakeholders are on the docket, including: Climate Jobs Illinois, a coalition of labor unions; Vistra, which owns five coal plants in the state; and Ameren Illinois, an investor-owned utility, just to name a few.
/ SB1718 is the only bill that mitigates climate change, expands renewable energy and energy efficiency, holds utilities accountable, and provides a plan for a just transition for coal plant communities in the state.
Rolling Back the Rollbacks: Putting Cars and Trucks Back on Track to Meeting Climate Goals
Dave Cooke, senior vehicles analyst | April 16, 2021, 2:13 pm EDT
The White House is getting ready to release the next round of targets for its commitment under the Paris Agreement. We are calling for at least a 50% reduction in global warming emissions by 2030, compared to 2005. As the largest single source of global warming emissions in the United States, passenger cars and trucks are a critical piece of this effort.
With his announcement on day one to revisit the previous administration’s rollback, President Biden signaled a recognition that it’s time to correct course. Below I describe what states have done to push back on the rollback, why the federal government must do much more than that, and how that sets us up not just for our near-term climate goals, but our long-term plan for a net-zero transportation sector by
Gov. Newsom’s Proposal to Invest $1 Billion in ZEV Infrastructure is a Smart Proposition
Jason Barbose, Western states policy manager | March 10, 2021, 9:52 am EDT
As the calendar turned to 2021 it became official that 2020 concluded the hottest decade on record. Scientists warn that the current decade the 2020s is the most consequential for the future of our planet. Collectively, society failed to make adequate progress reducing heat-trapping emissions over the past three decades, and as a result the 2020s are our last chance to preserve a relatively safe home for us all. (…emphasis on
relatively, given the dramatic impacts that are already inevitable.)