THE state of California is known for having the most strict environmental laws in the United States. Their vehicle emissions rules are more stringent than that of the US Environmental Protection Agency. California also has several pioneering environmental legislations in the US, and possibly in the whole world.
Recently, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order requiring sales of all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035. This is a drastic move and a first in the US With this, California joined 15 countries that have already committed to phasing out gasoline-powered cars and using market power to push zero-emission vehicle innovation and drive down costs for everyone.
It’s not only passenger vehicles, trucks too. Last June 25, the California Air Resources Board adopted a first-in-the-world rule requiring truck manufacturers to transition from diesel trucks and vans to electric zero-emission trucks beginning in 2024. By 2045, every new truck sold in California will be zero-emission.
California’s transportation sector is responsible for more than half of all of the state’s carbon pollution, 80 percent of smog-forming pollution and 95 percent of toxic diesel emissions. The shift to zero-emission vehicles is aimed at curbing pollution and fight climate change.
There are other environmental laws that California pioneered. In August 2014, California became the first state to enact legislation imposing a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags at large retail stores. The law also required a 10-cent minimum charge for recycled paper bags, reusable plastic bags and compostable bags at certain locations. Before this state-wide ban, more than 100 municipalities in the state already have similar laws, including Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The latest ground-breaking legislation is the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, signed by Gov. Newsom only this October. This is the first state-level ban in the U.S. of 24 toxic ingredients, including mercury and formaldehyde, from beauty and personal care products.
These ingredients are already prohibited from cosmetics and other personal care products sold in the European Union and some other countries but are still used in personal care products sold throughout the U.S. The banned chemicals are linked to harmful impacts on health, such as cancer, birth defects, damage to the reproductive system, organ system toxicity and endocrine disruption.
California is dead set in enforcing its own laws, even choosing to fight it out with President Trump. Last year, California and 22 other states filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Trump administration to challenge the decision to revoke California’s authority to set strict car pollution rules.
That’s political will!