Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) released the following statement regarding the Governor’s Executive Order issued today, which includes a requirement that all new passenger vehicles sold in California must be zero emission starting January 1, 2035.
“The hazy, orange sky we woke up to earlier this month was alarming and hammered home the urgency of our climate crisis. If we want clean air, we need clean cars. 50% of California’s greenhouse gas emissions comes from the transportation sector, much of it from the vehicles you and I drive every day. The fastest way to make the biggest dent in slowing the effects of global warming is to embrace cleaner cars. Many other countries have already committed to this goal, and I’ve been working tirelessly for years to make this transition happen in California. I applaud the Governor for putting us on a path that’s not only crucial for our planet, but also helpful in spurring green jobs as we recover from COVID-19.”
Ting first introduced AB 1745 in 2018, which would have banned the sale of new, gas-powered vehicles by 2040. He subsequently authored legislation, AB 40 in 2019, which would have developed a plan to achieve this outcome by 2040. Ting also championed $1.5 million in last year’s state budget to identify strategies for significantly reducing vehicle emissions, along with bills to increase the consumer cash-back amounts in the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project and the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Currently on the Governor’s desk is Ting’s AB 841, which requires the California Public Utilities Commission to eliminate by March its years-long backlog of applications permitting the installation of EV charging stations.
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