CARB approves $533 million clean transportation funding plan

25 October 2019

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a $533 million plan to fund clean car rebates, zero-emission transit and school buses, clean trucks, and other clean transportation and mobility pilot projects.

The Fiscal Year 2019-20 Funding Plan for Clean Transportation Incentives, largely funded with cap-and-trade proceeds, is part of California’s strategy for improving air quality and reducing GHG emissions in the transportation sector, the state’s largest source of air pollution and climate-changing gases. Of the $533 million total, $485 million comes from the cap-and-trade program; the remainder—$48 million—is from the Air Quality Improvement Program.

Building on previous years, the FY 2019-20 plan continues to support the statewide Clean Vehicle Rebate (CVRP) and Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Projects (HVIP), but includes changes to both programs. Changes to CVRP include a maximum base MSRP of $60,000 for vehicle eligibility, to prioritize environmental justice by increasing access to cleaner mobility options in disadvantaged and low-income communities. The plan also limits plug-in hybrid electric vehicle eligibility to only those vehicles that achieve a minimum 35-mile electric range. Furthermore, hybrid vehicles and 8.9-liter natural gas low-NOx engines will no longer be eligible for HVIP funding.

Highlights of the FY 2019-20 Plan include:

• $238 million for the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP), with a stipulation that $25 million be used to fund increased rebates for low-income consumers. CVRP promotes clean-vehicle adoption by offering rebates for the purchase or lease of new, eligible zero-emission vehicles, including electric, plug-in hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles.
• $182 million for clean trucks, buses and off-road freight equipment, including $142 million for the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) and $40 million for advanced technology demonstration and pilot projects in the heavy-duty sector.
• $65 million for Clean Transportation Equity Projects to increase access to clean mobility options benefiting low-income communities and households. These include funding for existing projects such as Clean Cars 4 All, which provides incentives for lower-income drivers to scrap and replace older, high-polluting cars with zero- or near-zero-emission cars, and school bus replacements.
• $48 million in Air Quality Improvement Program funding to clean up heavy-duty truck emissions. Demand is expected to rise as a result of a new law that will only allow trucks that are compliant with California’s Truck and Bus Regulation to be registered by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Over the past six years, California Legislature has appropriated more than $2.2 billion for low-carbon transportation projects from the cap-and-trade program. These investments support the state’s 2030 GHG emissions reduction target of 40% below 1990 levels.

Source: CARB