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Commentary: California’s continued leadership on clean vehicles couldn’t come at a better time

Motorists make their way out of downtown Los Angeles.
(FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
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Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to go all-in on electric vehicles is not only good for California’s — and the country’s — environment, it’s good for our economy.

According to E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs), more than 266,000 Americans work at companies that make electric vehicles or other types of clean cars and trucks — including 41,000 Californians — at places ranging from Tesla in Fremont to electric truck parts manufacturer Meritor in Escondido.

Newsom’s announcement that California will require all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035 will create even more good-paying jobs; attract more investments to our state and drive innovation and economic growth at a time when we need it most.

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That’s on top of the economic benefits that come with addressing climate change, which is already sucking our state’s budget dry with every wildfire and drought.

California knows leading on electric vehicles is the smart thing to do. Eighteen years ago, the state passed groundbreaking legislation to limit greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions from motor vehicles. Authored by then-Assemblymember Fran Pavley of Agoura Hills, the legislation went on to become the model for federal car emissions and mileage standards, forever changing the auto industry for the better.

Back in 2002, hybrid vehicles were as rare as Teslas were just a few years ago. Fully electric road-ready vehicles were nearly nonexistent. Electric-powered big rigs were a pipedream.

Thanks to California’s leadership, that all changed. Passage of the Pavley bill spurred competition and innovation in American vehicle markets — creating jobs, investments and economic growth along the way.

Last year, electric vehicles were California’s second-most valuable export, worth $7 billion. Yes, much of that can be attributed to Palo Alto-based Tesla, which employs 48,000 workers. But it also includes electric bus companies like BYD in Lancaster and Burlingame-based Proterra.

Companies that make electric vehicles are just the start. There’s also the companies that make the parts and infrastructure that makes them go. According to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, companies that make and sell electric vehicles, parts, charging stations and related equipment provided 275,600 jobs statewide, with average annual wages of $91,300, in 2018.

Incidentally, Gov. Newsom just took a great step toward supporting those companies as well, signing Assembly Bill 841 last week. It includes provisions to accelerate the electric vehicle infrastructure — and the jobs to build and install it — that we’ll need to power all of the new clean vehicles.

Gov. Newsom’s executive order is the logical next step as California continues to lead the transformation to cleaner transportation. It follows June’s announcement by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) of the nation’s first-ever emissions standards for medium and heavy duty trucks.

Under that rule, 40 percent of big rigs and more than half of all other medium and heavy-duty trucks need to be zero-emission vehicles if they’re sold in California beginning in 2035.

CARB estimates replacing diesel-belching big rigs and other trucks with zero-emission vehicles will result in nearly $9 billion in health savings. It will save trucking and delivery companies $6 billion in fuel and other costs. And it will create more than 7,400 jobs while driving innovation at truck and parts manufacturing companies.

Other states are following California’s leadership, once again. Shortly after CARB announced its Advanced Clean Trucks Rule, 15 states announced plans to follow. They know it’s the smart and right thing to do.

For anyone skeptical that we can replace gas vehicles with cleaner, electric cars and trucks, remember all we’ve accomplished since the 2002 California clean car standard.

Or look to companies like Wal-Mart, which just announced it will shift to 100 percent electric or other zero-emissions trucks by 2040. Or Amazon, which recently agreed to purchase 100,000 electric delivery vehicles over the next four years. The market is there; the opportunity waiting.

Or look to the rest of the world. While the White House wants to keep America’s head buried in coal mines and fracking wells while denying reality, more than a dozen countries — including China, Canada, the United Kingdom and France — are also phasing out internal combustion engines.

Amid the double-whammy of climate change and the cratering economy, California’s continued leadership on clean vehicles couldn’t come at a better time, for our economy and for our environment.

Keefe is the executive director of E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) a national, nonpartisan organization of more than 9,000 business leaders. He lives in Carlsbad.

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