Environment | Daily Report

Bill Abbott/FlickrElectric cars meet California's tough "clean car" standards

California has been at the forefront of toughening pollution standards for cars, due in part to its dirty air. Now state officials are working with federal agencies to align standards for the rest of the nation, improving fuel efficiency and tailpipe emissions.

State regulations, also known as the Pavley law, set emissions standards for cars made from 2012 to 2016. The law is expected to reduce emissions by 22 percent in 2012 and up to 30 percent by 2016. 

Current federal standards mandate that cars and trucks made between 2012 and 2016 get a minimum of 35.5 mpg. For the first time, the proposed regulations will coordinate national standards for emissions with fuel economy standards. 

Air Resources Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols said her agency is working with the EPA and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to hash out the details of the new state and national standards, which they plan to announce Sept. 1.

The new standards will affect cars and light trucks made between 2017 and 2025, with an anticipated decrease in carbon dioxide emissions of up to 6 percent, according to a Citi Investment Group report released March 30. Fuel efficiency could improve to 47 to 62 mpg by 2025, the report states.

At an environmental conference last week, Nichols spoke about the importance of improving fuel economy standards without unnecessary regulatory burdens on the auto industry.

"Our major economic competitor and the one that outstrips us in greenhouse gases is China," Nichols said at a press roundtable in Oakland. She added that the Chinese government recently announced it will give $15 billion over the course of 11 years to support the development of electric and plug-in vehicles.

Bill Green, an investor with Macquarie Capital Funds who also attended the conference, said businesses need regulatory certainty in order to invest money in new and emerging technology.

"It is important you fully recognize the extent of the ecosystem," he said. "We're not just speaking about cars, it's about the entire transformation about the way we generate and use power." For example, electric cars need places to charge, meaning drivers will need more places to plug in – from corporate parking garages to multi-unit residential apartments.

New standards can have a ripple effect for many businesses, including those that supply parts to auto makers. Not all of the "clean cars" complying with the new standards will be electric cars, hybrids or plug-in hybrids – some will simply be more fuel-efficient gas-burning cars.

Making them more efficient means adding turbochargers and other equipment, said Rebecca Henson, sustainability analyst at Calvert Investment Management, Inc., who also attended the conference.

Although California's vehicle standards are higher than national ones, the state still lags behind Europe. However, the Citi report notes if the U.S. can achieve the 6 percent reduction in greenhouse gas pollution from cars by 2025, it would be "virtually identical" to the European Union's 2020 target goal.

Currently the Golden State has about 24 million registered vehicles (cars, light trucks and SUVs), and about 8 percent of those are "clean cars," said Stanley Young, Air Resources Board spokesman, in an e-mail message. Part of that 8 percent includes nearly 2 million partial-zero-emission vehicles, such as the Toyota Camry hybrid, Ford Escape hybrid and Honda Accord sedan. Young said there are also 2,300 battery electric vehicles and 160 fuel cell vehicles registered in the state.

According to the U.S. Transportation Department, there are about 239 million registered cars, pickup trucks and SUVs in the country.

Because a vehicle lasts about 15 years, Young said by the time the 2025 standards kick in, there will be plenty of "clean cars" available on the used market, thanks in part to the state's tough regulations.