[The Epoch Times, August 30, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Naveen Athrappully reported / Wen Hui compiled) Following the California Air Resources Board (CARB) passed regulations that will ban new fuel vehicles in California, Similar measures are likely to be implemented in Washington, Massachusetts and Virginia.
Under CARB’s new rules, zero-emission vehicles and plug-in hybrids should account for 35 percent of California’s new car sales starting in 2026; by 2030, that number should rise to 68 percent; and by 2035 100%. California has been granted a federal waiver to set air quality standards that are stricter than national standards.
And states such as Massachusetts, Washington and Florida have already enacted trigger laws that, if passed in California, would also limit the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles.
“This is an important milestone in our fight against climate change,” Washington Governor Jay Inslee wrote in an Aug. 24 tweet. “Washington state legally sets all sales by 2030. With the goal of zero emissions for all new cars, we plan to adopt California regulations by the end of this year.”
On Aug. 11, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a clean energy and offshore wind bill that includes a provision that his state will follow suit if California bans the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles.
In a statement to Fox, a spokesman for the office of Florida Attorney General Jason Miyares said former Gov. Ralph Northam and “the far-left-controlled state legislature” “A law was signed in 2021 that would subject Virginia to California’s vehicle emissions regulations.
“The Attorney General wants the state legislature to repeal this law and stop any trends that make Virginia more like California,” the spokesman said. “Unelected California officials should not dictate to Virginians.”
fundamental criticism
In an Aug. 25 statement from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, CEO John Bozzella noted that the push to replace fossil-fueled vehicles with electric vehicles first requires meeting some basic requirements because will determine the success or failure of the plan.
“Policy makers should ask themselves: Are critical minerals and battery supply chains in place? Will critical minerals mining and processing take place in the U.S.? Will customers afford these vehicles? Can all communities be like single-family homeowners,” he said. Install a secondary home charger as well?”
Bozzella said external factors such as inflation, supply chains, labor, ongoing semiconductor shortages, and charging infrastructure are “intricate global issues” that are beyond the control of CARB or the U.S. auto industry.
Replacing fossil fuel vehicles with electric vehicles could also make the grid vulnerable. In a 2020 interview with the California Globe, Tom Tanton, head of technology assessment at E&E Legal, noted that full electrification is “pretty expensive.”
Electrification could disrupt decades of energy diversification and tie consumers to a single grid that cannot handle extreme weather, such as polar vortex cold snaps or heat waves.
“With the significant increase in demand related to electric vehicles, the removal of gas equipment from buildings and other electrification initiatives, the likelihood of power outages will increase,” Tanton said.
Some EVs also face heating problems in cold weather. After the Christmas break last year, a Tesla owner from Saskatoon, Canada, changed his mind about buying the Tesla electric pickup Cybertruck because the heating system of his Tesla Model Y was driving stop working. Drivers believe that combustion engine vehicles are safer in cold climates. ◇
Responsible editor: Fang Ping