The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced a nearly $82-million penalty in a joint case to address significant air pollution violations by Valero Refining Co. at its Benicia refinery. This penalty is the largest ever assessed in the Air District’s history. More... Read more →

The lack of air-quality monitoring capabilities across the US affects the health of millions of people and disproportionately impacts minority and low socioeconomic-status communities, according to a new open-access study by researchers from UC Berkeley and the University of Washington, published in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters. Motivated by... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement agreement with the Lima Refining Company (LRC) resolving alleged Clean Air Act violations for excess emissions from wastewater of benzene and other volatile organic compounds from its refinery in Lima, Ohio. Under the settlement, LRC... Read more →

Research by AI-powered supply chain risk platform Infyos has identified that companies accounting for 75% of the global battery market have connections to one or more companies in the supply chain facing allegations of severe human rights abuses. Most major battery manufacturers and end batteries applications are exposed including many... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is launching a new program to enhance air quality monitoring across the state, with a heavy focus on communities where residents live near multiple sources of pollution. The goal of the program, known as the Statewide Mobile Monitoring Initiative (SMMI), is to get more... Read more →

Michelin North America made a $50-million investment at American Synthetic Rubber Company (ASRC) in Louisville, Kentucky to construct a natural gas boiler facility. The new facility will significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions at the plant. The project entails the decommissioning and dismantling of the coal boilers at ASRC. It also... Read more →

The California Energy Commission (CEC) is opening applications for $38 million in equity-focused incentives to fund publicly accessible electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in low-income and disadvantaged communities in 28 counties in northern and southern California. The rebates are part of the California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project (CALeVIP), the nation’s... Read more →

In support of California’s goals for vehicle electrification and climate action, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is offering two new programs designed to improve access to electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure for customers in underserved communities. The Empower EV and Multifamily Housing and Small Business EV Charger pilot programs... Read more →

A team of researchers from the University of California, Berkeley; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and University of Miami has analyzed the implications of California’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) for emissions of greenhouse gases and criteria air pollutants, both in aggregate and in their distribution. In an open-access... Read more →

Coal trains and terminal operations add a significant amount of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution to urban areas—more so than other freight or passenger trains—according to a study conducted in Richmond, California, by the University of California, Davis. The open-access paper, published in the journal Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health,... Read more →

Last week, US Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.-44), Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Congressman Donald McEachin (D-Va.-04), and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.-07) led 61 of their colleagues in both the US Senate and House of Representatives in sending a letter urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has released the draft 2022 Climate Change Scoping Plan—the third update to the state’s initial 2008 Scoping Plan. It identifies a path to achieve carbon neutrality over the next two decades while also assessing the progress the State is making towards reducing its greenhouse... Read more →

US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan last week announced a series of environmental justice actions. In addition to launching a new Office of Environmental Justice within the Justice Department, Attorney General Garland also announced a new comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy to guide the... Read more →

The LA Department of Transportation (LADOT) launched its Universal Basic Mobility (UBM) Pilot in South Los Angeles—one of the largest programs of its kind in the country, increasing access to transportation options for thousands of Angelenos. The pilot will bring e-bikes, shared EV cars and on-demand EV shuttle service, in... Read more →

Forth and Mobility Development Group are creating a national partnership to launch the Affordable Mobility Platform (AMP), which will establish electric vehicle (EV) carsharing based at affordable housing sites in at least five states over the next two years. In November 2021, Forth was awarded two grants from the US... Read more →

The Second UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference concluded with a call to accelerate progress towards achieving sustainable transport that would result in major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and in improving the lives of millions of people. The Conference participants agreed that without a profound shift to sustainable mobility, achieving... Read more →

California Climate Investments—a program designed to put billions of dollars to work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions—is funded with proceeds from the State’s Cap-and-Trade GHG emissions reduction program and is administered by the California Air Resources Board (ARB). Since 2013, the California Legislature has appropriated $15.4 billion in California Climate... Read more →

Air pollution monitoring by the Houston Health Department in 2019 and 2020 recorded levels of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, along the Houston Ship Channel that pose potential health risks to surrounding neighborhoods. The analysis, funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency, found that from 27 September 2019 to 26 September... Read more →

Twenty-one California nonprofits, local governments, transit agencies, and Native American tribal governments in under-resourced communities have been awarded up to $1 million each by the new Clean Mobility Options Voucher Pilot Program (CMO) to develop and launch zero-emission mobility projects, such as bikesharing and ride-on-demand services, aimed at overcoming transportation... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted its Triennial Strategic Research Plan. The plan serves as a roadmap for research planning for fiscal years 2021-2024, and ensures that CARB’s research portfolio addresses policy and program needs. The Triennial Plan guides CARB’s annual selection of research contracts, which are fulfilled through... Read more →

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is expected to be the source for approximately 69% of mined cobalt in 2020—i.e., a significant quantity of the world’s supply originates from areas ranking poorly in terms of corruption and working conditions, notes critical materials supply chain intelligence company Roskill. Cobalt producers within... Read more →

BASF and global mining and metallurgy group Eramet will jointly assess the development of a state-of-the-art nickel and cobalt hydrometallurgical refining complex. Such a development would include a High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) plant and a Base Metal Refinery (BMR). The HPAL would be located in Weda Bay, Indonesia, while the... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board has approved significant changes to the requirements for reporting emissions from stationary sources to help communities assess air pollution at a local level. The improvements to the emission inventory will help with prioritizing efforts to further reduce emissions of pollutants that cause smog as well... Read more →

A study by researchers at The Ohio State University suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic had varying effects on demand for public transit in US cities. While demand for public transit dropped about 73% across the country after the pandemic hit, the reduction didn’t impact all cities equally, according to the... Read more →

Millions of used cars, vans and minibuses exported from Europe, the United States and Japan to the developing world are of poor quality, contributing significantly to air pollution and hindering efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, according to a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The... Read more →

The California Energy Commission (CEC) approved a $384 million plan for critical clean transportation investments to boost the adoption of zero-emission cars and trucks and help the state reach its climate, clean energy and public health goals. The plan focuses on closing gaps in zero-emission fuels and infrastructure to support... Read more →

Electrify America is investing $3 million to provide education and awareness programs for low-income and disadvantaged communities throughout California on the benefits of driving zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) and available cash incentives. The latest announcement brings Electrify America’s total investment in California community-based programs to $5.7 million over the past... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board will provide up to $22 million in grants to address transportation needs in disadvantaged and low-income communities with clean transportation options under a new $22-million pilot project. The funding, available through the Sustainable Transportation Equity Project (STEP), will support the planning and implementation of clean... Read more →

New York’s State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced that more than $24 million is now available to replace diesel-powered transit buses with new all-electric transit buses. As part of the state’s $127.7-million allocation of the federal Volkswagen Settlement,... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced up to $55 million in funding for two programs to support the development of low-cost electric aviation engine technology and powertrain systems. Research on Aviation-class Synergistically Cooled Electric-motors with iNtegrated Drives (ASCEND) and Range Extenders for Electric Aviation... Read more →

Cummins Inc. announced its next environmental sustainability strategy—PLANET 2050—which includes science-based goals that meet or exceed the goals in the United Nations Paris agreement on climate change. By 2050, Cummins is targeting net-zero carbon emissions. PLANET 2050 focuses on three priority areas: addressing climate change and air emissions; using natural... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is designing the Sustainable Transportation Equity Project Program, and will hold its second program design workgroup in Los Angeles later this month. STEP aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase access to clean transportation, and address community resident’s transportation needs by funding planning, clean... Read more →

Disease-causing air pollution remains high in pockets of America, particularly those where many low-income and African-American people live, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in New York. The nation’s air on the whole has become cleaner in the past 70 years, but those... Read more →

Efforts to shift away from fossil fuels and replace oil and coal with renewable energy sources can help reduce carbon emissions but do so at the expense of increased inequality, according to a new study by researchers at Portland State University (PSU) and Vanderbilt University. Julius McGee, assistant professor of... Read more →

A new California-wide program will make it easier for communities to get funding for clean mobility projects to improve their sustainability and quality of life. The program enables smaller groups and communities of concern that may not have the resources available to access funds for clean transportation choices. The $17-million... Read more →

A new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) warns that the health of Europe’s most vulnerable citizens remains disproportionately affected by environmental hazards such as air and noise pollution and extreme temperatures, especially in Europe’s eastern and southern regions, despite overall improvements in Europe’s environmental quality. The map uses... Read more →

Electrify America will collaborate with six organizations in California to help develop and launch community-based programs to support brand-neutral education and awareness of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) for disadvantaged and low-income communities. Electrify America is investing $2.7 million in the education and outreach campaign. Electrify America uses definitions for low-income... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board approved a $483 million plan to fund clean car rebates, zero-emission transit and school buses, clean trucks, and other innovative, clean transportation and mobility pilot projects. The Fiscal Year 2018-19 Funding Plan for Clean Transportation Incentives, largely funded with cap-and-trade proceeds, is part of California’s... Read more →

A new study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found that deaths related to air pollution in the US were nearly halved between 1990 and 2010. The open-access study is published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. The team’s analyses showed that... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board announced a new statewide grant and loan program to help lower-income consumers across California get into the cleanest new and used cars on the market. The Clean Vehicle Assistance Program, run by the Oakland-based nonprofit Beneficial State Foundation, was launched with a $5-million CARB grant.... Read more →

During the first three years of California’s 5-year-old cap-and-trade program, the bulk of the greenhouse gas reductions occurred out of state—i.e., state residents did not see the benefits of improved air quality from presumed reductions in harmful co-pollutants, such as particulate matter—according to a new study led by UC Berkeley... Read more →

A US federal indictment is charging Martin Winterkorn, the former chairman of the management board of Volkswagen AG (VW), with conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with VW’s cheating on US diesel vehicle emissions requirements. The FBI and EPA Criminal Investigation Division are investigating the case. The superseding indictment was... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board approved a $663-million low-carbon transportation plan to increase the use of clean cars, heavy-duty trucks, buses and freight equipment. The funding will help the state cut climate-changing gases while promoting technologies that reduce harmful diesel emissions, particularly in disadvantaged and low-income communities. These investments support... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) is developing a measure to reduce emissions from Transport Refrigeration Units (TRUs) by transitioning to zero-emission technologies. To that end, ARB staff is holding two more workshops on the development of a regulation to limit the amount of time that internal combustion engine-driven TRUs... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) reached settlements with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) and Union Pacific Railroad Company (UPRR) to resolve violations of the state’s drayage truck regulation, which requires cleanup of trucks servicing the state’s busy ports and intermodal rail yards. An investigation by CARB’s Enforcement... Read more →

A new study of 60 million Americans—about 97% of people age 65 and older in the United States—finds that long-term exposure to airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone increases the risk of premature death, even when that exposure is at levels below the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)... Read more →

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti launched the BlueLA Electric Car Sharing Program alongside California State Senate Leader Kevin de León, Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, the California Air Resources Board, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, and representatives from Blue Solutions—a division of the Bolloré Group—which has invested more than $10 million... Read more →

Engineering researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and colleagues have demonstrated a measurement approach to for urban air pollution mapping at 4–5 orders of magnitude greater spatial precision than possible with current central-site ambient monitoring. The team equipped two Google Street View vehicles with the fast-response Aclima Ei... Read more →

In an effort to accelerate the movement to zero- or near-zero emission locomotives, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) has petitioned the US EPA take action to adopt more stringent emission standards for locomotives. These new standards are to include standards for newly manufactured locomotives (which ARB refers to as... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has opened a grant solicitation for applicants to implement the Car Sharing and Mobility Options Pilot Project for Fiscal Year 2016-17. The overarching goal of this project is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and also achieve criteria pollutant emission reductions and other co-benefits... Read more →