CA vehicle emissions rules would sharply cut smog Air board, with industry's support, to vote on sharp cuts

Daniel Gonzales washes a low-emission Chevy Volt at the Novato Chevrolet on Thursday, January 26, 2012 in Novato, Calif. The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle manufactured by General Motors. New rules that the California Air Resources Board is prepared to approve would force automakers to sell an increasing number of electric cars and plug-in hybrids in the state beginning in 2018. By 2025, under the new rules, 15 percent of the new cars and small trucks sold each year in California would have to be powered by batteries, fuel cells or some other technology that produces little or no air pollution. less Daniel Gonzales washes a low-emission Chevy Volt at the Novato Chevrolet on Thursday, January 26, 2012 in Novato, Calif. The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle manufactured by General Motors. ... more Photo: Dania Maxwell, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Dania Maxwell, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close CA vehicle emissions rules would sharply cut smog 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

California is on the verge of approving the most stringent vehicle emissions regulations in the United States, forcing automakers to cut exhaust by two-thirds and begin mass-producing zero-emission vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

The California Air Resources Board is expected to vote today on a package of laws that would essentially require a 34 percent reduction in smog and a 75 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.

The regulations, called the Advanced Clean Car program, come after a battle with oil companies and the auto industry, which sued to stop a previous measure that would have required 10 percent of the vehicles for sale in the state by 2003 to produce zero tailpipe emissions.

This time - with hybrids and zero-emission vehicles already on the market - automakers have largely supported the regulations, which experts expect to be the start of a clean vehicle revolution that will sweep the nation.

"It's the most comprehensive suite of proposals and it will make sure consumers have a wide range of vehicle choices over the next 15 years," said Don Anair, the senior analyst and engineer for the clean vehicle program of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit organization with offices in Berkeley that finds scientific solutions to environmental problems. "I think this is really securing California's status as a leader in clean vehicles while helping California's economy."

Zero-emission vehicles

The new standards would require 15 percent - or about 1 in 7 - of new cars and small trucks sold each year in California to run on batteries, hydrogen fuel cells or other zero-emission technology within the next 13 years. Plug-in hybrids that can run for at least 10 miles on electricity would qualify.

The new requirements would get increasingly stricter. By 2018, more than 70,000 cars and light trucks sold in California would have to run without spewing fossil fuel exhaust. An estimated 1.4 million zero-emission vehicles would be humming around the state by 2025.

The board's goal is to have 80 percent or more of the state's fleet of new vehicles running on clean fuel technology by 2050.

The standards would allow carmakers who can't produce the required number of zero-emission vehicles to buy credits from companies that do. For instance, an electric vehicle that gets 100 miles on a charge would be worth 1.5 credits, according to the proposed law. Automobile manufacturers who fall short can be fined $5,000 per credit by the Air Resources Board. It is not clear what measures would be taken if companies can't sell the vehicles they produce.

The regulations would strengthen California's 2009 greenhouse gas emissions standards, which are the toughest in the nation. Fourteen other states, including Washington, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts, have adopted California's current emissions goals.

National standards

The vote comes the same week federal regulators held a public hearing in San Francisco to discuss national fuel economy standards proposed by President Obama. Those regulations, which call for new vehicles to get 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, resulted from a collaboration between the Air Resources Board, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and 13 automakers. If approved this summer, California's and the federal government's emissions policies would essentially be one and the same.

Scientists say the reductions in greenhouse gases that would result from the new rules are necessary for the world to avoid the most catastrophic effects of human-caused climate change. Regulators say the rules will also drive innovation and, therefore, job growth, reduce America's dependence on oil from hostile countries, and save people money on the cost of gasoline and medical care.

"It is rare that any regulatory action will result in such a big win for the economy, consumers, national security and the environment," wrote state Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills (Los Angeles County), the author of California's first Clean Cars bill in 2002. "Simply put, cleaner cars will save money and drive job creation."

The widespread support for the proposed standards is an acknowledgment of the technological advancements in fuel, battery and vehicle propulsion that have been made over the past decade.

There are, nevertheless, only about 400,000 hybrid cars in the state, around 4 percent of the market. Consumers are still reluctant to buy electric cars because of their high cost and limited range. Despite new vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt, some engineers question whether there will ever be a big enough market for cars with limited juice, no matter how good they are for the environment.

Driving up costs

Oil companies and many car dealers insist the new regulations will drive up energy costs and strangle the economy.

Forrest McConnell of the National Automobile Dealers Association said the projected $3,200 increase in vehicle prices over the next decade will price many people out of the market.

"If new vehicles don't get sold," he said, "their fuel saving or environmental benefits won't materialize."

Environmental groups and clean fuel advocates also have concerns about the proposed changes.

'Oil companies should pay'

Jay Friedland, legislative director for PlugInAmerica.org, objected to part of the proposal that would allow automakers to cut the number of electric-drive vehicles by up to 40 percent between 2018 and 2021 if they beat federal emissions standards.

He also objected to a proposal by the state to spend $100 million building 100 hydrogen fuel stations.

"This is for cars that aren't built yet," Friedland said. "If they build them, oil companies should pay."

Still, 81 percent of Californians in a recent survey by the Consumer Federation of America supported required reductions in emissions, and 75 percent thought California should require automakers to build more zero-emission vehicles.

Jack Gillis, the federation's director of public affairs, said tailpipe emission requirements are "vitally important to the advancement of the American automobile industry and for keeping auto companies competitive in the global market."