California approves strict clean-fuel regulation AIR QUALITY Greenhouse gas emissions to be cut

The clean fuel revolution got a kick start Friday when the California Air Resources Board unanimously approved strict vehicle emissions regulations that will mandate production of more than a million zero-emission vehicles.

The package, known as the Advanced Clean Car program, will cut in half current greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. It means automakers will have to cut exhaust by two-thirds and begin mass-producing cars that do not run on gasoline.

"This is an historic new chapter in California history for the clean automobile," said Mary Nichols, the resources board chairwoman, after the vote. "Although there may be some bumps in the road for individual vehicles, the steady drumbeat that is driving us to get off of petroleum continues."

The new standards require 15 percent of new cars and small trucks sold each year in California to run on batteries, hydrogen fuel cells or plug-in hybrid technology within the next 13 years.

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

Ultimate savings

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

"The zero emission or plug-in hybrids will account for about 1 in 7 vehicles ... and that's actually a relatively modest goal, but that's all that we are mandating," said Nichols, adding that the board will be working with the automobile industry on ways to streamline the process. "We expect to go beyond that with incentives."

Nichols said the regulations will take 52 million tons of pollution out of the air, the equivalent of 10 million of today's vehicles. By 2025, consumers will save an average of $4,000 over the life of a car compared with today - even though new vehicles will cost more, according to the Air Resources Board.

Cutting oil dependence

Scientists say the reductions in greenhouse gases that will 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 U.S. dependence on oil from hostile countries, and save people money on the cost of gasoline and medical care.

Don Anair, a senior analyst and engineer for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nationwide nonprofit environmental policy institute with offices in Berkeley, said the country is on the verge of the biggest advancement in clean fuel technology.

"Over the next 15 years, we are going to see a lot more choices and different kinds of vehicles," Anair said. "California has long been a global leader in advanced clean car technology, and this policy continues that by making gas vehicles cleaner, increasing the number of electric vehicles and driving down costs for consumers."