The US Department of the Interior-led Interagency Working Group on Mining Laws, Regulations, and Permitting (IWG) released its final report containing recommendations to reform and improve the way mining is conducted on US. public lands. The report will inform efforts to modernize the Mining Law of 1872 and related federal... Read more →
The California Air Resources Board will transition its existing Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) program to a new program targeting low- and middle-income Californians. In late 2023, a new program will expand statewide access to the existing Clean Cars 4 All program that gives residents up to $12,000 to scrap... Read more →
The US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is accelerating demand for critical minerals (lithium, cobalt and nickel) and copper that are vital to energy transition technologies. However, ensuring enough qualifying supply to meet that demand faces “considerable challenges,” according to a new analysis by S&P Global. The new study finds that... Read more →
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced a massive expansion of the scrappage scheme to every Londoner affected by the imminent ULEZ expansion, along with a number of other significant changes. In November 2022, Khan announced the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) (earlier post) London-wide (earlier post).... Read more →
The US Department of Energy (DOE) and US Department of Transportation (DOT) Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (Joint Office) announced the members of the Electric Vehicle Working Group (EVWG), a collection of EV industry experts and leaders who will help guide the widespread adoption of EVs across the country.... Read more →
Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, released the Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies Government of Canada Self‑Review Assessment Framework and the Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies Government of Canada Guidelines, which were jointly developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Department of Finance Canada. The Government of... 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 →
Electric vehicle (EV) adoption has accelerated faster than many predicted. Globally, EV sales doubled in 2021 and jumped 55% in 2022 to account for 13% of all vehicles sold. If this trend is to continue, however, the eMobility ecosystem must collaborate around ‘Six essentials for mainstream EV adoption’, according to... Read more →
Based on comparison tests between a Tesla Model Y and Kia Niro full hybrid, independent emissions testing company Emissions Analytics (earlier post) is suggesting that at present full hybrids are the win-win, do-no-harm option for decarbonizing transportation, while BEVs are a win-lose option, hampered by a “vexatious” trade-off between CO2... Read more →
More than two-thirds (68%) of lithium-ion battery production planned for Europe is at risk of being delayed, scaled down or cancelled, according to new analysis by the European NGO Transport & Environment. Tesla in Berlin, Northvolt in northern Germany and Italvolt near Turin are among the projects that stand to... Read more →
The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has published the final minimum standards for federally funded EV charging infrastructure projects. FHWA also released the final Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Electric Vehicle Chargers. These standards will help to ensure that chargers operated by different networks will operate similarly and provide... Read more →
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, launched a £110-million (US$133-million) scrappage scheme to support Londoners on lower incomes, disabled Londoners, charities, sole traders and business with 10 or fewer employees to replace or retrofit their old, polluting vehicles in order to be ULEZ compliant. In November 2022, Mayor Kahn announced... Read more →
A report prepared by the Climate and Community Project, a climate policy think tank, with researchers from UC Davis, suggests that the United States can achieve zero emissions transportation while limiting the amount of lithium mining necessary by reducing the car dependence of the transportation system, decreasing the size of... Read more →
Four Federal agencies released the US National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization. Developed by the Departments of Energy (DOE), Transportation (DOT), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the blueprint lays out a strategy for cutting all greenhouse emissions from the transportation sector by 2050. The blueprint... Read more →
The Government of Canada on Friday released its Critical Minerals Strategy , backed by up to $3.8 billion in federal funding allocated in Budget 2022. (Earlier post.) The proposed funding covers a range of industrial activities, from geoscience and exploration to mineral processing, manufacturing and recycling applications, including support for... Read more →
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued Venezuela General License (GL) 41, authorizing Chevron Corporation to resume limited natural resource extraction operations in Venezuela. GL 41 authorizes: Production and lifting of petroleum or petroleum products produced by the Chevron JVs, and any related... Read more →
In a letter sent to US Senate and House leadership, a broad coalition of energy and agriculture organizations called on Congress quickly to adopt legislation that would resolve inconsistent fuel volatility regulations. Specifically, the groups expressed support for legislation that would result in equal regulatory treatment for all gasoline blends... Read more →
The California Air Resources Board approved a $2.6-billion investment plan to support the transition to zero-emission transportation. Supported projects range from incentives for cleaner trucks and buses, and mobility options such as bike- and car-sharing, to consumer rebates for clean cars. This year’s investment dollars focus largely on underserved communities,... Read more →
A tax on frequent flying could generate revenues needed to deeply decarbonize aviation through midcentury while concentrating the cost burden on those who fly the most, according to a new study from the International Council on Clean Transportation. (ICCT) The study comes as policymakers gather in Montreal this week to... Read more →
General Motors and Environmental Defense Fund announced a set of recommendations that seek to accelerate a zero-emissions, all-electric future for passenger vehicles in model year 2027 and beyond. The recommendations were jointly developed by GM and EDF to support the next tier of EPA clean car standards. GM and EDF... Read more →
The rapidly growing space industry may have a greater climate effect than the aviation industry and undo repair to the protective ozone layer if left unregulated, according to a new study led by UCL and published in the journal Earth’s Future as an open-access paper. The space industry is one... Read more →
President Biden called on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for the next 90 days, through the busy summer driving season—18 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24 cents per gallon for diesel. He also called on states to suspend their state gas taxes as well or to find... Read more →
SAFE and the Electrification Coalition (EC) released a report highlighting policy opportunities to accelerate the adoption of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. As electric vehicle (EV) adoption accelerates across all vehicle classes, V2G capability can help manage system load and provide power back to the grid during times of need, thereby strengthening... Read more →
The road transport sector could still reach net-zero emissions by 2050 through electrification, but urgent action would be required from policymakers and industry participants, according to research company BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) latest annual Long-Term Electric Vehicle Outlook (EVO). Certain segments, such as buses and two- and three-wheelers are close to being... 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 →
More than 250,000 Californians have now received a financial Clean Fuel Reward at the point of sale when they purchased or leased a plug-in electric vehicle—an important milestone for this program after only 18 months since it began. The California Air Resources Board’s California Clean Fuel Reward program provides an... Read more →
All regions of the world do not—and will not—experience the effects of CO2 emissions in the same way. Some will suffer greatly from climate change, while others may even benefit. These heterogeneous effects mean that different countries will have differing incentives to abide by the Paris Agreement, which aims to... 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 →
In another attempt to addressing rising gasoline prices (earlier post), President Biden announced that the EPA Administrator is planning to allow E15 gasoline—gasoline that uses a 15% ethanol blend—to be sold this summer. To make E15 available in the summer, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to issue a... Read more →
The European Parliament approved an agreement with EU governments on the update of the rules defining the charges member states can impose on trucks, buses, vans and passenger cars using trans-European transport (TEN-T) network roads. This will not force EU member states to charge vehicles using their roads. However, should... Read more →
In a study published in Nature Climate Change, an international research team reports finding limited evidence that individual or household rebates have increased public support for carbon taxes in Canada and Switzerland. The researchers from UC Santa Barbara, Université de Montréal, University of British Columbia and University of Bern used... Read more →
The US Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) is urging congressional leadership to continue working on tire policy and related transportation sustainability initiatives. While the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) includes several provisions that would advance scrap tire markets and improve the resiliency of the nation’s infrastructure, USTMA has... Read more →
Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection has set a target for purchasing zero-emissions city buses for public transportation operators in Israel— starting in 2026, all buses purchased will be electric. Dan electric buses The Ministry’s instructions define gradual targets up to the target year for zero-emissions buses: By 2024, at least... Read more →
by Brent Wilson, CEO of Galvanic Energy. Perhaps the most common argument against electric vehicles (EVs) has been the lack of recharging infrastructure. Many people think EVs are great for commuting or for driving around town, but take one on a road trip and things can get dicey. Who wants... Read more →
In California, the 2021 Budget Act committed $3.9 billion towards zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) acceleration through 2023-24. This included investments ranging from cleaning up drayage trucks, transit, and school buses to accelerating equitable electrification of passenger vehicles, e-bikes and rail—coupled with infrastructure and incentives for in-state manufacturing. In his new budget... Read more →
For more than 20 years, California has aggressively supported the rooftop solar market through its Net Energy Metering (NEM) program in Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) territories. NEM allows customers who generate their own energy (customer-generators) to... Read more →
As one of the results of the $1-trillion infrastructure bill signed into law in November, the Biden Administration released an EV Charging Action Plan to outline steps federal agencies are taking to support developing and deploying chargers across the country. The infrastructure law calls for a network of 500,000 public... Read more →
US President Joe Biden has issued an executive order directing all Federal agencies to transition to a Zero-Emission Fleet. Under the order, each agency needs to achieve 100% zero-emission vehicle acquisitions by 2035, including 100% zero-emission light-duty vehicle acquisitions by 2027. Each agency with a fleet of at least 20... Read more →
CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, commissioned PwC Strategy& to assess the impact of three different Green Deal policy scenarios on employment and value-add among automotive suppliers across Europe in the period of 2020-2040. The scenarios represent a mixed technology approach; the current EV-only approach proposed in the Fit... Read more →
The California Air Resources Board approved a $1.5-billion investment plan that will increase access to clean vehicles and clean mobility options through a wide variety of projects that support the transformation of California’s vehicle and equipment fleet to zero-emission. The plan is by far the largest annual investment in clean... Read more →
The COP26 pledge by governments, automakers and others to sell only zero-emissions cars and vans from 2035 in leading markets and by 2040 elsewhere (earlier post) needs to be backed up with actual targets set down in law, green NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) said. With China, the US, Germany... Read more →
At COP26 in Glasgow, 23 country governments; 10 governments in emerging markets and developing economies; 40 cities, states and regional governments; 11 automakers; 27 fleet owners and operators or shared mobility platforms; 13 investors with significant shareholdings in automotive manufacturers; 2 financial instituions; and 17 other organizations signed a declaration... Read more →
The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First Half (January-June) of 2021, which shows the largest six-month increase recorded in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history. An estimated 20,160 people died in motor vehicle crashes... Read more →
The German government is topping up the funding for private charging stations for electric cars in residential buildings by a further €300 million (US$349 million). The purchase and installation of the wall boxes are supported with a grant of €900 (US$1,050). A total of €800 million (US$932 million) in federal... Read more →
The California Air Resources Board has released the final version of the light-duty hydrogen fueling station self-sufficiency report, pursuant to the requirements of Assembly Bill 8 (2013).A self-sufficient network demonstrates the ability to continue operations and growth without further State financial support. The self-sufficiency study evaluates the economics of potential... Read more →
New research by economic and public policy consulting group M.Cubed finds a proliferation of backup generators across California, with nearly 90% being diesel-fueled, posing significant obstacles to achieving greenhouse gas reduction targets and driving nearly $136 million in annual health costs. Over the last year, the generator population jumped by... Read more →
Governments need to move faster and more decisively on a wide range of policy measures to enable low-carbon hydrogen to fulfil its potential to help the world reach net zero emissions while supporting energy security, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in a new report. Currently, global production of low-carbon... 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 →
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 →
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $26 million to build infrastructure to expand the availability of higher-blend renewable biofuels by 822 million gallons annually in 23 states. USDA is making the awards under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program. The funding will help increase the use of biofuels... Read more →