SACRAMENTO, Calif.— More than 80 environmental and justice organizations—incuding San Francisco Baykeeper, Center for Biodiversity, and Communities for a Better Environment—delivered a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom today urging him to strengthen the state’s clean car regulations. The letter comes ahead of Newsom’s State of the State address Tuesday, in which he’s expected to outline his top priorities.
Historically California has been the nationwide leader on setting strong emissions standards, but the state is at risk of losing this mantle. Under the current draft of California’s clean cars rule the state aims to reach 61% electric vehicle sales by 2030 — only a modest improvement over the Biden administration’s goal of making 50% of new vehicle sales electric by 2030.
The letter calls on the governor to direct the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to set a much tougher target to curb emissions in California and ensure an equitable transition to electric vehicles. CARB will finalize the regulation later this year.
The letter also demands that the board make automakers sell a higher percentage of electric vehicles in the next several years and require steep pollution cuts from gas-powered cars in the meantime. It also calls on the board to promote good jobs in clean transportation and incorporate mandatory equity commitments to ensure that communities most affected by pollution reap the benefits from electric vehicles.
SIGNATORIES ARE:
1. 350 Bay Area
2. 350 Conejo / San Fernando Valley
3. 350 East Bay
4. 350 Humboldt
5. 350 Santa Barbara
6. 350 Silicon Valley
7. Acterra: Action for a Healthy Planet
8. Active San Gabriel Valley
9. Alameda County Interfaith Climate Action Network
10. Albany Climate Action Coalition
11. Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
12. Berkeley Electrification Working Group
13. California Democratic Party Environmental Caucus
14. California Environmental Justice Alliance
15. California Interfaith Power & Light
16. California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice
17. Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice
18. Center for Biological Diversity
19. Center for Climate Change and Health
20. Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment
21. Central California Asthma Collaborative
22. Central California Environmental Justice Network
23. Charge Across Town
24. Climate Action Now
25. Climate Hawks Vote
26. Climate Health Now
27. Climate Reality Project-Los Angeles Chapter
28. Climate Reality Project, Orange County Chapter
29. Climate Reality Project, Silicon Valley
30. Climate Reality, San Fernando Valley Chapter
31. Coltura
32. Communities for a Better Environment
33. Corporate Ethics International
34. Earth Action, Inc.
35. Ecology Center
36. Elders Climate Action
37. Elders Climate Action - Southern California
38. Elected Officials to Protect America
39. Endangered Habitats League
40. Environmental Justice Advocates, First Unitarian Church of Oakland
41. Environmental Protection Information Center- EPIC
42. EVHybridNoire
43. Food & Water Watch
44. Fresnans against Fracking
45. Friends of the Earth
46. Greenpeace USA
47. Indivisible Ross Valley
48. Indivisible San Francisco
49. Indivisible San Jose
50. Indivisible South Bay LA
51. Labor Network for Sustainability
52. Let’s Green CA!
53. Long Beach 350
54. Long Beach Gray Panthers
55. Marin Interfaith Climate Action
56. Movement Rights
57. Northern California Solar Energy Association
58. Novasutras
59. Oil and Gas Action Network
60. Pacific Environment
61. Palms To Pines Democratic Network
62. Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles
63. Resource Renewal Institute
64. Sacramento Climate Coalition
65. San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility
66. San Francisco Baykeeper
67. SanDiego350
68. Santa Barbara County Action Network
69. Santa Barbara Standing Rock Coalition
70. Santa Cruz Climate Action Network
71. Sequoia ForestKeeper®
72. SoCal 350 Climate Action
73. Stand.earth
74. Sunflower Alliance
75. Surfrider Foundation
76. Sustainable Mill Valley
77. The Climate Center
78. The Greenlining Institute
79. West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs
80. Women's March Santa Barbara
81. ZEV2030