California Air Resources Board meet in Sacramento

The California Air Resources Board met in Sacramento on Thursday consider regulations requiring major automakers to produce more low-emission cars such as plug-in hybrids and zero emission cars such as EVs.

The board's decision plays a key part in its mandate to meet California's ambitious goal of reducing air pollution and cutting greenhouse gas emissions as required by landmark legislation, AB32, enacted more than a year ago. When the state enacted this zero-emission vehicle mandate in 1990, it called for 10 percent of new-vehicle sales from big automakers to be all-electric by 2003, or about 100,000 cars or more a year. Under pressure from automakers and the Bush Administration, that requirement was eventually delayed by several years and reduced to the current level. Automakers are advocating the view that a mix of cleaner-burning gasoline cars, hybrids and plug-in hybrids would be more realistic.

Supporters and owners of electric cars were to demonstrate at the State Capitol in Sacramento driving their electric cars around to show the technology is practical today.

While it was feared that there would be a dilution of up to 90% in the requirement of porducing 25,000 cars, this article reports that

"The Air Resources Board of California voted Thursday to reduce by 70 percent the quota of emission-free cars that vehicle manufacturers must sell in the state. It sets the number at 7,500 units of electric and hydrogen fuel-cell automobiles and 58,000 plug-in hybrid electric cars by 2014."

Another article here says,

"The air board's staff recommended changing the rules to allow manufacturers to make just 2,500 such vehicles in the first phase and 25,000 in the second.

But they would have to compensate by making more than 180,000 low-emission vehicles, such as plug-in hybrids, which use electric and gasoline engines, and those that burn hydrogen.

But board members said the recommendations were too lenient and unanimously adopted the formula offered by board member Daniel Sperling - a minimum of 7,500 zero-emission vehicles along with 58,000 low-emission vehicles between 2012 and 2014. Requirements for the following three-year period were not established."

So the outlook is not as bleak as feared after all, however Former air board Chairman Robert Sawyer is quoted as having said "California needs every tool to meet its global warming goals... California is a place where electrical vehicles can and should happen."

That is true not just for California but for the whole world!