Environmental Activist Groups Urge California to Boost Electric Car Provisions

On Monday, several agencies including over 80 environmental groups pushed Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California, to enact additional support and legislation to endorse the use of electric cars, even as the state surpassed the Biden administration’s goals.

Scott Hochberg of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, one of the petitioning groups, said, "Californians being punished by high gas prices and climate disasters deserve the fastest all-electric future Gov. Newsom can deliver." He added that Newsom "needs to prove the state’s climate leadership with a much faster electrification timeline.”

According to Reuters, California, which makes up 11% of all American vehicular trades, intends to achieve a 61% zero-emission electric vehicle (EV) target by 2030. Newsom in 2020, had announced that California is gearing up to gradually pull out of dealing in new light-duty internal combustion vehicles by 2035.

The petition comes as Governor Newsom prepares to deliver the State of the State speech on Tuesday.