California’s Advanced Clean Cars II rule can empower other states to adopt stronger clean vehicle targets and accelerate the growth America’s electric transportation workforce
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 25, 2022 — Today, national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) applauded the California Air Resource Board decision to require 100% of all new light-duty vehicle sales in the state be zero-emission by 2035. Referred to as the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) rule, the move is the next step in the state’s Clean Cars program, which has helped create a national market for more efficient, less polluting vehicles. More than a dozen states have adopted California’s previous vehicle emission standards, as the federal Clean Air Act allows.
“This decision charts the path toward a zero-emissions transportation future for the whole country,” said AEE transportation policy director Ryan Gallentine. “The California program will have a major ripple effect nationally, opening the door for states to increase EV adoption, encourage economic growth, and reduce emissions. We call on other states to take this opportunity to drive the growth of electric transportation nationwide.”
Electric vehicles are one of California’s top exports, and the states that have followed suit on previous Advanced Clean Cars efforts represent nearly one-third of the U.S. vehicle-buying market. AEE’s newly published California Advanced Energy Jobs Fact Sheet shows that, as of 2021, 53,700 people worked in California’s advanced vehicles sector, which includes employment related to hybrid, electric, and fuel cell vehicles; EV jobs alone grew 28% in California from 2020 to 2021, reaching 38,500.
“EV employment in our country is skyrocketing, with jobs in electric transportation growing 10 times faster than overall U.S. jobs last year,” added Gallentine. “This program provides market certainty for automakers, and when combined with the historic clean energy and transportation investments made by Congress, including millions in tax credits for car buyers, puts the U.S. on an achievable path to zero-emissions transportation.”
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