A report from the State Auditor of California finds that California may not successfully meet its upcoming greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goal of 40% by 2030, which will require the State to reduce GHG emissions by nearly 40% over the next decade. Source: State Auditor Report Number: 2020-114 Although other... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is making additional clean vehicle rebates available for lower-income consumers. A cornerstone of CARB’s suite of EV-purchase incentives, the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) is the nation’s largest and longest-running EV incentive program. CVRP offers standard rebates of $1,000 to $4,500 for the purchase... Read more →

California’s current strategy of recovering a myriad of fixed costs in electricity usage rates must change as the state uses more renewable electricity to power buildings and vehicles, according to the findings from a new report from the Energy Institute at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and non-profit... Read more →

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering have found that with an emissions-based incentive towards electrification, ridesourcing companies such as Uber and Lyft would electrify more and cut their emissions by amounts ranging from 10% in New York to 22% in Los Angeles. In LA alone, this represents a reduction... Read more →

In a common letter, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Transport & Environment (T&E) and the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) asked the EU climate, transport, industry and energy commissioners to use this year’s revision of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive (AFID) to require 1 million public charging points across the... Read more →

President Biden has created a new Climate Innovation Working Group as part of the National Climate Task Force to advance his commitment to launching an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Climate (ARPA-C). The working group is intended to help coordinate and strengthen federal government-wide efforts to foster affordable, game-changing technologies that can... Read more →

Eleven companies have formed Hydrogen Forward, a new coalition focused on advancing hydrogen development in the United States. The founding members—Air Liquide, Anglo American, Bloom Energy, CF Industries, Chart Industries, Cummins Inc., Hyundai, Linde, McDermott, Shell and Toyota—share a belief in the environmental and economic benefits of hydrogen technologies. These... Read more →

The Electrification Coalition has introduced its EV Policy Showroom, offering policymakers, EV advocates, industry partners and other stakeholders online access to easily navigable data and policy information on the deployment and adoption of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. The EV Policy Showroom features databases, calculators, guidance and tools that provide... Read more →

In remarks made at the signing of his Executive Order on Strengthening American Manufacturing, President Biden said that he would replace the federal government’s fleet of vehicles with electric vehicles made in the US. Such an investment in procurement, along with hundreds of billions of dollars to be spent in... Read more →

A new study by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has found that there are currently 6.2 million medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles on the EU’s roads, the average age of which is 13 years. Almost 98% of all these trucks run on diesel, according to the 2021 Vehicles in... Read more →

The governors of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and the mayor of the District of Columbia announced that theirs will be the first jurisdictions to launch a new multi-state program that the principals expect will invest some $300 million per year in cleaner transportation choices. The Transportation and Climate Initiative... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board approved $28 million in Air Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) funding to support two popular statewide incentive programs aimed at bringing the cleanest vehicle technologies to low-income and underserved communities. California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) provides incentives to purchase the... Read more →

The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking public comment on the potential development of a framework of principles to govern the safe behavior of automated driving systems (ADS) in the future. The advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) was submitted to the Federal Register... 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 →

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that the government will accelerate the ban on the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles, bringing it forward by ten years to 2030, as part of a “Green Industrial Revolution.” The sale of hybrid cars will be allowed until 2035. Johnson announced the... Read more →

California electric utilities are teaming up with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to offer the California Clean Fuel Reward (CCFR), a point-of-sale price reduction of up to $1,500 for the purchase or lease of any eligible new Battery Electric or Plug-in Hybrid vehicle (BEV or PHEV) from a participating... Read more →

The Premier of Québec François Legault, and the Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change and Minister responsible for the Laval region, Benoit Charette, unveiled the 2030 Green Economy Plan (PEV 2030) and its first 2021-2026 implementation plan, with an envelope of $6.7 billion over five years.... Read more →

The Electrification Coalition released a new report that identifies solutions and actions that industry stakeholders should take to help the United States accelerate the adoption of electric trucks in the freight sector. The report, Electrifying Freight: Pathways to Accelerating the Transition, outlines the benefits electric trucks have over their diesel... Read more →

Nine members of the California state legislature sent a formal letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom urging that he take a technology-neutral approach to decarbonization and not focus the state’s transportation sector investments solely on battery-electric vehicles, particularly in medium- and heavy-duty transportation applications where they say fuel cell electric... Read more →

Many of China’s environmental regulations set targets for local governments that are used to evaluate the possibility of promotion for local officials. A new study shows that this well-intentioned centralized system of regulating may be ineffective in reaching national goals. The study looked at water quality regulations and found that... Read more →

Audi of America is among the first in the automotive industry to implement an internal carbon price program as a key initiative in the brand’s pursuit of lower CO2 emissions. This is part of the global commitment Audi has made to lower its carbon footprint by 30% by 2025, and... Read more →

California’s latest greenhouse gas data shows that while the state continues to stay below its 2020 target for emissions, there is much more work to do to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. The California Air Resources Board released GHG emissions data for 2018 showing that emissions remain below 1990 levels... Read more →

Fossil fuels still receive most of the international government support provided to the energy sector despite their “well-known environmental and public health damage,” according to new research from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. “There is evidence that fossil fuel subsidies are socially inequitable, that they encourage smuggling and... 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 →

The National Zero-Emission Truck (ZET) Coalition, including some four dozen organizations representing the US’ major heavy truck makers, innovators, suppliers and key stakeholders, sent a letter to Congressional leadership calling on any stimulus or recovery legislative package to prioritize investments that benefit U.S. ZET production and competitiveness. Critical new federal... Read more →

US President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order declaring a “national emergency” to deal with the threat to US security, foreign policy and economy from its “undue reliance” on supplies of critical minerals from “foreign adversaries”—specifically China. Though these minerals are indispensable to our country, we presently lack the capacity... Read more →

Peninsula Clean Energy, a Community Choice Aggregation agency and the official electricity provider for San Mateo County in California, is expanding its program offering rebates to help first-time buyers of new electric vehicles. The 2020 New EV Rebate Program will offer rebates of $1,000 towards the cost of a new... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is denying petitions for small refinery exemptions for past compliance years, the so-called “gap-filling” petitions for the 2011-18 compliance years. In total, the agency had received 68 retroactive exemption requests from petroleum refiners seeking to skirt obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS); the... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board has approved the first three Community Emissions Reduction Programs (CERP) within the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) under Assembly Bill 617. Residents living in the three communities are heavily impacted from high levels of air pollution sources including ports and inland warehouses traffic.... Read more →

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced an initiative to develop a first-of-its-kind corridor for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) designed to improve transportation for communities in Southeast Michigan. A key goal of the project will be to design the corridor with a focus on closing long-standing gaps in access to transit... Read more →

Recent US Supreme Court precedent has opened the door for states to enact laws requiring all new cars sold in the state to be electric as of a certain date, according to a paper by the nonprofit Coltura published in the University of Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law.... Read more →

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced a package of major clean transportation initiatives, including a “Make Ready” order approved by the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) to advance New York’s commitment to accelerate its transition to cleaner mobility. The EV Make-Ready Program will be funded by investor-owned... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to retain, without changes, the existing, more stringent 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone. The standards, established in 2015, are currently set at 70 parts per billion (ppb), in terms of a 3-year average of the annual fourth-highest daily... Read more →

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak announced the “Clean Cars Nevada” initiative, which will evaluate the adoption of new regulations to provide Nevadans with more choices for low and zero emission electric passenger cars and trucks at dealerships throughout the state beginning in 2024. Also referred to as “Clean Car Standards” which... Read more →

Traffic accidents are the leading cause of non-natural deaths worldwide. Lower speed limits may help prevent accidents. But speed-reduction policies can be controversial and effects are not well documented. A new study from University of Illinois shows that speed reductions in São Paulo, Brazil, significantly reduced fatal accidents and increased... Read more →

Representatives Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. (D-CA-39) and Francis Rooney (R-FL-19) introduced the Department of Defense (DOD) Non-Tactical Vehicle Reduced Petroleum Consumption Act. This bill directs the DOD to replace such vehicles—from passenger cars to construction vehicles such as bulldozers and forklifts—as they age with zero-emission vehicles. The gradual procurement process... Read more →

Motorbike insurer Bikesure recently surveyed 1,000 commuters in London to find out how the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has impacted them. Bikesure’s first conducted its ULEZ survey in 2019. Even though the ULEZ has been temporarily suspended to support key workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, this survey explores the... Read more →

The response to COVID-19 is having a major impact on the economy, with retail and manufacturing activity crippled without precedence and concerns mounting on consumer sentiment. The European automotive sector, which has been hit particularly badly, is proposing a plan comprising 25 actions to support a strong restart of the... Read more →

The Australian Government has established funding to support hydrogen-powered projects. The A$300 million (US$193 million) Advancing Hydrogen Fund will be administered by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). As an early priority, CEFC will seek investment in projects included in the ARENA Renewable Hydrogen Deployment Funding Round. The ARENA round... Read more →

New data shows that motor vehicles generate more than €440 billion in taxation per year for national governments in the major EU markets plus the UK, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) reports. The taxes fall into three broad categories: vehicle acquisition (VAT, sales tax, registration tax); ownership (annual circulation... Read more →

Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) released a new report “Legal Grounds: Law and Policy Options to Facilitate a Phase-Out of Fossil Fuel Production in California.” The report analyzes steps California leaders could pursue on state- and privately-owned lands to achieve this reduction. California is the... Read more →

The Colorado Energy Office (CEO), a non-regulatory department within the Governor’s Office focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by advancing clean energy, energy efficiency and zero emission vehicles, has released the Colorado Electric Vehicle Plan 2020. Colorado released its first electric vehicle plan two years ago, establishing a target of... Read more →

Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer (IA-01) introduced the Clean Fuels Deployment Act of 2020. The bipartisan legislation, co-sponsored by Reps. Angie Craig (D-MN), Don Bacon (R-NE), and Roger Marshall (R-KS), would provide funding for installing and converting fuel pump infrastructure to deliver higher blends of ethanol (E15 and E85) and biodiesel (up... Read more →

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced a total of $25 billion in federal funding allocations to help US public transportation systems respond to shift in market reality caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding is provided through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed... Read more →

The falling cost of making hydrogen from wind and solar power offers a promising route to cutting emissions in some of the most fossil-fuel-dependent sectors of the economy, such as steel, heavy-duty vehicles, shipping and cement, according to a new report from BloombergNEF (BNEF). Hydrogen Economy Outlook, a new and... Read more →

A sudden drop in miles traveled by car in the US triggered by wide-spread social isolation measures will have immediate ramifications for gasoline demand. IHS Markit analysis finds that US gasoline demand could fall by as much as 4.1 million barrels per day (MMb/d) during the COVID-19 response period. The... Read more →

The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) data confirm large decreases in air pollutant concentrations—of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations in particular—largely due to reduced traffic and other activities, especially in major cities under lockdown measures. Reductions of around half have been seen in some locations. The EEA’s data are measured hourly, on... Read more →

INRIX has published the first in what it says will be an ongoing series of reports on road traffic demand changes from the COVID-19 virus spread. The report finds that COVID-19 has reduced traffic by 30% nationwide so far in March. Source: INRIX. Total volume first dropped nationally on 13... Read more →

Data from the ESA’s Tropomi (TROPOspheric Monitoring) instrument on board the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite shows the variation of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions over China from December to March. A decline in NO2 corresponds to the outbreak of COVID-19 and a subsequent resurgence corresponds to the succes of measures to contain... Read more →

Air pollution is responsible for shortening people’s lives worldwide on a scale far greater than wars and other forms of violence, parasitic and vector-born diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and smoking, according to an open-access study published in Cardiovascular Research. Professors Jos Lelieveld and Thomas Münzel, of the Max Planck... Read more →