Center for Biological Diversity

For Immediate Release, January 3, 2018

Contact: Brian Nowicki, (916) 201-6938, bnowicki@biologicaldiversity.org

New California Assembly Bill Would Ban Fossil Fuel Car Sales in 2040

Clean Cars 2040 Act's Timeline Insufficient to Address Climate Crisis

SACRAMENTO— California Assemblymember Phil Ting introduced legislation today that would prohibit the original registration of fossil fuel vehicles in the state in 2040.

“We applaud the effort to drive California toward a clean transportation future, and it needs to happen a lot sooner than 2040,” said Brian Nowicki, climate policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The climate emergency demands we shake our fossil fuel car addiction in the next few years, not decades. We need an ambitious timeline to immediately spur the planning, investment and infrastructure urgently needed for widespread adoption of zero-emission vehicles.”

Transportation accounts for nearly 40 percent of California’s greenhouse gas emissions. Tailpipe pollution is also a major cause of smog. According to the American Lung Association, the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is home to the highest levels of smog in the United States, and six other California cities rank in the top 10.

A quick phase-out of fossil fuel cars is imminently achievable. Automakers are expanding their inventory of long-range zero-emission vehicles as the technology improves and becomes less expensive. Other governments have moved to phase out fossil fuel vehicles much more rapidly. Norway, for example, has banned the sale of petroleum vehicles starting in 2025.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.6 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

www.biologicaldiversity.org

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