California has just taken a major step to control the drastic climate change. The California government has published a mandate for all the mass transit agencies to be fully equipped with only electric buses by the beginning of 2029. It has also made it clear that by 2040, all modes of public transport will be emission free.
This will require the government to purchase and manufacture a total of 14,000 zero-emission buses. On this, the chair of CARB, Mary Nicholas has released a statement saying that California is pushing the standards and becoming more and more progressive than the current federal government. The city wants to curb chronic air pollution as it is leading to severe asthma and heart diseases among its citizens.
This move has come against the US government who is promoting the use of fossil fuels. Trump has clearly said that he doesn’t believe in Global Warming and that he is intelligent enough to know that anything as such exists. However, California’s Innovative Clean Transit rule will avoid what the administration is thinking and is working to shift their focus from fossil fuels to either hydrogen fuel cells or to electric power.
This move by the CARB will open up opportunities for many electric automobile companies including Proterra. Proterra has been in the business of electric buses for 14 years now and investors have put in some half a billion in it. Not only this, this move will also attract foreign players like Chinese automaker BYD.
This is not the only move of California towards renewable energy sources. According to a report by The Hill, California is the first state which has issued a mandate for all the homes to be fitted with Solar Panels. By 2045, the state will have to be a fully renewable electric grid.
Source- Tech Crunch
