Comment Log Display

 
My name is Leana Rosetti and I represent Extinction
Rebellion SF Bay. 
 


We ask that you make the voluntary equity
requirements mandatory. Otherwise it is likely that automakers will
not need to do any of them, and frontline communities get left
behind with little access to ZEVs once again, all while being
exposed to the most air pollution. CARB has the authority to do
this, and it is especially justified considering that the greatest
emissions gains would likely be seen in low-income communities. A
2020 study focused on older vehicles found that those vehicles
produce more NOx and other pollutants, and that these vehicles are
disproportionately located in low-wealth communities throughout
California. Or, as
a fallback to a mandatory approach, CARB’s next-best option
would be to condition the use of certain credits on participation
in the equity programs. 


 


We urge you to require that all vehicles be
ZEV by 2030. 2035 is too late; scientists have repeatedly warned us
that we no longer have time for incremental change; a rapid
transition is necessary to avoid climate catastrophe, and there is
no room for new fossil fuel infrastructure. Cars stay on the road
for at least 15-20 years, which if still sold through 2035, will
make it impossible for CA to reach its state and federal emissions
goals. Roughly 2 million
additional gas vehicles would be sold between 2030 and 2034,
emitting an estimated 69 million metric tons of CO2 over their
lifetimes. A 2019 study
showed that even if we were to immediately phase out gas cars and
other fossil fuel technology, we would only have a 64% chance of
limiting global temperature to 1.5 degrees. Even 2030 may be too
late. 


 


The Rule must require a minimum of 7%
annual reductions in GHG emissions until 2030. This is feasible and
necessary in order to keep emissions trends on course to limit
warming to 1.5 degrees.


 


Car companies, the oil industry, and other
industries will resist change and claim that portions of the rule
are too aggressive. That is why it must be required by the
government: to force innovation and make things happen faster than
they would if left up to industry. We did not reach the moon
without challenging ourselves, and there is too much at stake here
to be sympathetic to complaints of how difficult it will
be. 


 


This rule must also be accompanied by large
investments in clean public transportation. This will lessen the
demand on ZEV cars and parts, meeting the concern expressed by
manufacturers being able to meet it. Our dependence on cars,
whether ICE or ZEVs, is inequitable and lowers everyone’s
standard of life. 


 

Our state has
already been impacted in tragic and extreme ways due to the climate
crisis. Massive and destructive wildfires happen every year.
Droughts get more extreme and threaten our ecosystems and water
supply. We must endure months of toxic air quality from wildfire
smoke, if we are not actually fleeing the fire itself. And it is
scientifically proven that these effects are not only locked in,
but will continue to get worse. However, we can control how much
worse. No one wants to breathe the polluted air from our
cars’ tailpipes; no one wants to destroy our planet while we
transport ourselves from one place to another. We are tired of
allowing oil companies to pollute, forcing us to pollute, solely
for their own profit, leaving disaster in their wake. A strong
clean car rule is necessary to speed the transition so that our
children have a fighting chance for a more stable climate, and a
crucial way for CA to lead in addressing the climate crisis. 10
million people already die every year due to fossil fuel air
pollution, and this is before all of the deaths that will continue
as climate catastrophes worsen. We need to stop the
madness.