California is a leader on the renewable energy front: utilities are well on their way to meeting the 33 percent RPS mandate, rooftop solar power is growing like crazy, and there are big desires to electrify transportation via High Speed Rail.
But a new report, released by the nonprofit, nonpartisan group Next 10, notes that a variety of policies keep California locked into a transportation system that is largely dependent on oil. Part of it is sheer size: there are 35,209,430 registered motor vehicles in the state.
Example: HOV lanes are largely added to the state’s freeways by building additional lanes through construction, instead of converting existing lanes. Ride-sharing start-ups, which advocates say will lead to a reduction in car ownership, face regulatory hurdles. The way that cities manage parking spaces is a huge problem. Even the home mortgage interest deduction is at fault, because it creates incentives for large homes on big lots that, you guessed it, lead to more vehicle miles traveled.
“Under California’s landmark climate and energy law, AB 32, the state is obligated to cut carbon emissions significantly through the year 2020,” said Noel Perry, founder of Next 10. “We want to show Californians that there are many options for reducing emissions in the state- including looking at existing policies and how they might inadvertently increase our demand for fossil fuels.”