Comment Log Display

Dear California Air Resources Board, 

We understand that CARB has announced the intent on how to specify
Volkswagen California ZEV Investment Commitment through a Public
Process.  We very much support the growth of the ZEV market and
accompanying infrastructure.  At Siemens, we also believe the
commitment should include other areas that will pave the way to our
clean energy future.  To confirm our commitment, in September 2015,
Siemens announced its intention to cut the carbon footprint of its
operative business in half by 2020 and to become climate neutral by
2030. To achieve this, Siemens is focusing on four different
levers: energy efficiency, decentralized energy systems,
intelligent e-mobility solutions and the purchasing of clean
electricity. 

Siemens believes there are several areas discussed in the
Investment Commitment announcement that warrant additional
consideration.

1.	ZEV infrastructure
We believe that ZEV infrastructure investments should be focused on
promoting intermodal transport i.e. using individual transportation
such as electric cars for short distances and for connections with
other modes of transportation such as public transit, intercity
rail transport and air.
We are convinced that especially the combination of ZEV with rail
provides important advantages in terms of total greenhouse gas
emissions, other emissions, reduction of traffic congestion and
energy usage.
We therefore suggest to direct Volkswagen’s infrastructure
investment into charging stations located near public
transportation hubs, in order to facilitate the use of electric
cars on short distances from home to stations, where the EV can
charge and the user connects to other transportation modes.

2.	Green City  
We understood from the workshop on 12/02/2016 that ARB suggests to
direct the Green City investments rather to one single place where
changes can be really transformative instead of spreading the
investments over a larger number of cities.

With respect to the necessary choice of a future “Green City” we
propose to CARB to choose a city that serves as intermodal
transportation hub connecting individual motorized traffic with at
least passenger rail, air and regional transit. This approach would
provide most benefits in leveraging the combination of various
modes of transportation, for the befits of more people (not only
local inhabitants but also travelers in transit) and provide
greater emission reductions. We think for example of using zero
emission vehicles for connections between airport, intercity
railway stations, light rail stations etc. for boosting not only
individual transportation but also energy-efficient public
transportation by rail. Specifically, we think that the city of San
Diego could be suitable.

In addition we would also like to see CARB support and guide funds
of Volkswagen’s commitment toward intelligent technologies in
cities to better manage the traffic that is increasing so quickly
on California roads, thereby increasing congestion and affecting
air quality and carbon emissions.  Siemens has invested in many
systems that support adaptive signal control, being able to move
vehicles more efficiently through the road network and prioritizing
cleaner modes like bike and transit through our existing
transportation systems.  We believe that investing in intelligent
traffic systems – both hardware and software – is a cost-effective
way to support the goals of a clean air  future with reduced
emissions.

By incorporating some of these ideas into the Investment
Commitment, Siemens believes we can help California achieve the
ambitious climate change goals laid out for the state.

Thank you for your consideration.

Martin Bloedt for Siemens Mobility