Dear CA Air Resources Board,
As a resident of a
region that suffers from transportation generated pollution, I urge
you to make California the clear leader in promoting clean cars by
accelerating the state’s transition to 100% electric vehicles
and strengthening requirements on new gas-powered vehicles.
Climate pollution from gas-powered cars and trucks makes up
40% of total greenhouse gas emissions in California, and Riverside
and Sanbernardino counties suffer ftrom this acutely. These
vehicles are also a massive driver of the climate emergency,
devastating our state with deadlier, more damaging wildfires, heat
waves, drought, and eventual sea level rise.
Historically, we’ve led the nation on setting strong auto
emissions standards — but the current clean cars proposal
falls short of recognition the serious crisis we face, and
providing the urgent action we need.
If we don’t
reach 100% zero-emission vehicle sales until 2035, it will be too
late for California to meet its goal of carbon neutrality by 2045,
since many new vehicles last 20 years or longer. Moving that target
to 2030 will give our state a better chance of meeting its climate
goals and remaining a global leader on clean cars.
And
we not only much reach that target in 2030, but we also can’t
ignore the climate-damaging emissions from new gas cars purchased
before 2030. We must take immediate action to make sure those cars
produce far less pollutants as they are driven on our roads for the
next decades.
This action both protects the climate, but
at least as importantly, it protects the health of the communities
hit hardest by tailpipe pollution. Vehicle exhaust harms people's
health and particularly hurts low-income communities of color near
congested freeways, leading to higher rates of respiratory problems
and cancer.
In short, I am calling on you to adopt
strong policy solutions to end tailpipe pollution and build an
environmentally just transportation system. Such standards must
fundamentally ensure equitable access to electric vehicles, and all
the following:.
• 100% zero-emission vehicle sales
by 2030.
• 7% annual pollution cuts from gas-powered cars
in the meantime.
• Mandatory equity commitments to ensure
that communities most affected by pollution benefit from electric
vehicles first and foremost.
by adopting these
standards, Calfornia has the opportunity to create
family-supporting, living wage jobs for Californians, while setting
nation-leading clean car standards that slash climate pollution,
ensure equity, and promote sustainable jobs.
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
Brian Unitt
Riverside,
CA 92506
|