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California wants 5 million ‘green’ cars on roads by 2030
LOS ANGELES, Jan 27, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – California Governor Jerry Brown
Friday signed an executive order detailing aims to have five million electric
cars on the state’s roads by 2030 — by accelerating the production of such
vehicles using financial incentives and rebates.
The $2.5 billion, eight-year plan also involves the installation of
250,000 electric vehicle charging stations and 200 hydrogen fueling stations
by 2025.
“To continue to meet California’s climate goals and clean air standards,
California must go even further to accelerate the market for zero-emission
vehicles,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
The order aims to “dramatically reduce carbon emissions from
transportation — a sector that accounts for 50 percent of the state’s
greenhouse gas emissions and 80 percent of smog-forming pollutants,” it
added.
The previous target, from 2012, aimed to get 1.5 million “green” vehicles
on the roads of the most populated US state — which boasts the biggest
automobile market, with around 14.5 million vehicles for 40 million people.
California, where the number of zero emissions vehicles has risen by 1,300
percent in six years according to the order, will need to maintain similarly
exponential growth to meet its latest goal.
Currently, eco-friendly vehicle sales represent five percent of sales in
the state.
Two years ago, California also adopted a goal of cutting CO2 emissions to
40 percent below the 1990 level by 2030.
The “Golden State,” a leading force in the fight against climate change in
the US, also aims to obtain half of its electricity from renewable sources by
2030.
The order also includes a $1.25 billion investment in California’s own
carbon market.
BSS/AFP/MRI/0822 hrs