As the market for the electric buses, cars, trucks, and trains that help curb the climate crisis continues to grow globally, the battery supply chain faces increased scrutiny. Minerals like lithium, nickel, graphite, and cobalt are too often mined and processed in ways that contribute to harming communities and ecosystems, while the batteries often face wasteful end-of-life disposal.
To address this challenge and identify solutions, Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) and ClimateWorks Foundation founded in 2022 the Global Forum for Sustainable Batteries, a worldwide network of nonprofit leaders, experts, and advocates committed to transportation electrification and mining justice.
In 2024, the Forum developed a 2040 Sustainable Battery Vision that we’re releasing publicly today, with the aim of guiding policymakers, organizations, companies, and the general public on the key elements of what a truly sustainable battery should be by 2040. The 2040 Sustainable Battery Vision covers all aspects of the supply chain and beyond, including:
- Sourcing of raw and recovered minerals and materials
- Battery manufacturing
- Battery end-of-life
- Battery value chain traceability
The Vision has received the endorsement of leading environmental and mining justice organizations from around the world, along with supportive quotes. You can view the full list of signatories and their quotes here. And if you represent an organization that would like to endorse it as well, please contact me.
Our hope is that pursuing this 2040 Vision will not only benefit affected communities and stakeholders, it holds the promise of ensuring that the world can meet the transportation electrification challenge both more sustainably and rapidly.
Trump is promising to roll back the $7500 tax credit for electric vehicles. CBS News covered the story last night, where I talked about the potential impact:
I appeared on CBS News Bay Area last week talking about what the Trump administration might do to try to gut California’s electric vehicle requirements:
And a similar story on Monday from CBS News Sacramento:
Yesterday I appeared on two radio shows, now available for streaming or podcast download. First, on KQED Forum, I was on a panel discussing what climate efforts may look like during a Trump Administration, and how California will respond. Joining me was:
- Lisa Friedman, reporter on the climate desk, New York Times
- Jesse Jenkins, assistant professor, engineering, Princeton University
- Aru Shiney-Ajay, Executive Director, Sunrise movement, a grassroots organization of students and young people focused on climate change
You can stream it here.
Then last night I hosted State of the Bay on KALW, where I spoke to UC Berkeley Professor of Chemistry Omar Yaghi about a newly developed carbon-capturing material that has the potential to transform how we address climate change.
Then, we broke down local election results and discussed what they tell us about the priorities and concerns of Bay Area residents with San Francisco Chronicle opinion columnist and editorial writer, Emily Hoeven.
And finally, we talked with Rae Black of Oakland’s For the Win Boxing, a boxing gym that offers professional coaching for women and non-binary people who want to pursue “the sweet science” of boxing.
You can listen to that show here.
Americans love big cars. But a new data analysis by the Economist finds the bigger the cars, the deadlier they are for pedestrians, for people driving smaller cars, and for our roads and infrastructure. I’ll be a guest on KQED Forum at 10am PT today for our In Transit series, discussing why this trend is happening.
As my co-panelist, the Economist’s Daniel Knowles, writes, “for every life the heaviest 1% of SUVs or trucks saves in America, more than a dozen lives are lost in smaller vehicles.” Regulators are starting to consider ways car design could be safer for pedestrians and other drivers. But advocates say more needs to be done.
Joining me and Daniel on the panel to discuss will be Angie Schmitt, journalist and author of “RIGHT OF WAY: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America.”
Tune in on KQED 88.5 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area or stream live at 10am PT!
California has groundbreaking goals to require automakers to sell, and large fleets to purchase, zero-emission trucks and buses in increasing percentages, starting this year. But these goals will only be achievable if the state has sufficient charging infrastructure to fuel the vehicles, along with available financing to help truck owners purchase or lease them.
To address these dual needs, UC Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) and the UCLA Law Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment are today releasing the new report Fueling & Financing: Addressing the Urgent Challenges Facing Electric Heavy-Duty Vehicle Deployment.
The report offers a suite of recommendations for policy makers and industry leaders to help address the key challenges to infrastructure deployment and financing, based on two convenings with a group of expert stakeholders. Some key recommendations include:
- The Legislature and California Public Utilities Commission could require utilities to improve energization timelines and authorize utilities to advance expenditures to fund grid upgrades for heavy-duty charging infrastructure sooner
- The Governor could create an executive level “charging working group” or “czar” with the authority to ensure coordination and hold accountable state agencies responsible for the deployment of charging infrastructure to support the heavy-duty vehicle sector
- The California Legislature and Air Resources Board could modify Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) funding to ensure more targeted uptake by fleets more readily able to electrify
- The California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) and Air Resources Board could facilitate private-sector lending for heavy-duty electric vehicles and associated infrastructure
- The California IBank or Legislature could expand and expedite loan loss reserve programs to offset investor and insurer concerns about the residual value of used vehicles
By implementing these and other solutions, California leaders can ensure the transition is feasible, which is crucial to the state’s broader climate and air pollution goals. The California Air Resources Board reports that in 2021, heavy-duty trucking was responsible for over 30 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, making up roughly 10% of the state’s total emissions. The pollution from these vehicles also disproportionately affects low-income and disadvantaged communities, exacerbating public health issues and deepening environmental injustices.
Zero-emission electric versions of these vehicles are already on the road and becoming more widely available. But the California Energy Commission estimates that by 2030, the state will require 114,500 charging stations to accommodate the projected 155,000 medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks and buses. In addition, the upfront price of battery-powered heavy-duty vehicles is currently higher than their fossil-fueled counterparts, leading to the need for financial assistance for many purchasers, particularly smaller fleets.
For this transition to succeed, it will require not just technological innovation but also robust policy support and financial investment. The solutions outlined in this report can hopefully offer a path for state policymakers to ensure that the decarbonization of heavy-duty vehicles is feasible and rapid, while addressing urgent equity, climate, and economic concerns.
Fueling and Financing is the latest release from the Climate Change & Business Research Initiative, a collaboration between Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy, & the Environment (CLEE) and UCLA Law’s Emmett Institute on Climate Change & the Environment. Since 2009, initiative leaders have published a series of policy papers and organized multiple events on how climate change will create opportunities for specific sectors of the business community and how policymakers can facilitate those opportunities.
To learn more, register for our webinar on the report on Thursday, September 19th at 10am PT, featuring a keynote by Dr. Steven Cliff, Executive Officer at the California Air Resources Board, followed by a panel discussion with Niki Okuk, Deputy Director of Trucks and Off-Road at CALSTART and Adam Browning, Executive Vice President at Forum Mobility.
Read the full report here.
This post was co-authored by CLEE climate fellow Shruti Sarode.
Tonight on State of the Bay, we’ll delve into the challenges facing California’s wine industry with Esther Mobley, senior wine critic at the San Francisco Chronicle.
We’re also joined by Seamus Murphy, executive director of The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority, who will share the details of a 25-year plan to enhance, expand and electrify the San Francisco Bay Ferry System.
Finally, we’ll hear from psychedelic comedian Adam Strauss about his one-man show,”The Mushroom Cure.”
Tune in at 91.7 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area or stream live at 6pm PT. What comments or questions do you have for our guests? Call 866-798-TALK to join the conversation!
On today’s Your Call Media Roundtable, we’ll discuss the ongoing crackdown on college campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, including at UCLA, Columbia University and University of Texas. We’ll hear from journalists who have been covering these student protests, including:
- Tasbeeh Herwees, a writer, journalist and a member of Writers Against the War on Gaza
- Constanza Montemayor, a senior staff reporter for the the Daily Bruin at UCLA
- Yasmeen Altaji, a multimedia journalist currently pursuing her M.A. in Journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Then, we’ll talk about the major United Auto Workers’ union victory at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee, in the heart of the anti-labor union South. Joining us will be:
- Steven Greenhouse, veteran labor journalist and the author of Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor
- Mike Elk, an Emmy-nominated labor reporter and the co-founder of Payday Report
Tune in at 91.7 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area or stream live at 10am PT. What comments or questions do you have for our guests? Call 866-798-TALK to join the conversation!
I’ll be a guest on KQED Forum at 10am PT today discussing how to improve electric vehicle charging infrastructure in California.
Electrical vehicle purchases in the state dropped significantly in the second half of last year, for the first time in a decade. It’s likely this is just a blip, but some potential EV buyers say that they’re holding off because of concerns over public charger access and reliability.
The situation may be improving though: California approved a $1.9 billion dollar investment in EV charging infrastructure last month, which will bring 40,000 new chargers online – including in rural areas.
On the show, I’ll talk about what California needs to do to meaningfully expand its EV charging infrastructure ahead of its 2035 ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars. Joining me on the panel will be:
- Russ Mitchell, Automotive Editor, Los Angeles Times, who covers the automotive industry.
- Terry Travis, managing partner, EVNoire, a Mobility Consulting Group that works to integrate and amplify diversity, equity, and inclusion in the electric transportation sector.
Tune in on KQED 88.5 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area or stream live at 10am PT!
California’s ambitious goal to end the sale of internal combustion engine passenger vehicles by 2035 will require addressing the challenges faced by lower- and moderate-income drivers in accessing battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs). Chief among these concerns is their need to have a convenient and affordable place to charge the vehicles.
Currently these residents too often experience limited access to EV charging stations, especially in lower-income communities characterized by lower home ownership rates and higher rates of tenancy in apartment buildings. Residents in these areas are more likely to lack dedicated parking spaces equipped with electric outlets, hindering their ability to charge EVs conveniently. Even those with garages or parking spaces may face financial constraints when it comes to investing in private charging and electrical upgrades. Compounding these challenges is the often-inadequate grid infrastructure in lower-income areas.
In response to these obstacles, UC Berkeley School of Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) partnered with the City of Watsonville, a diverse city of 50,000 in Santa Cruz County’s agricultural heartland. Due to its location, demographics, and ambitious policy goals, Watsonville represents a potential model and case study for other cities around the state grappling with how to boost zero-emission vehicle charging infrastructure.
Today CLEE is pleased to release a new report, which draws on stakeholder interviews and a convening held in Watsonville to offer a set of policy recommendations for both state and local leaders. These recommendations aim to accelerate investment in EV charging infrastructure not only in Watsonville but other cities facing similar challenges in meeting state targets while addressing lower-income residents’ needs.
- Comprehensive Mapping Assessment: Watsonville’s City Planning Department and Public Works & Utilities Department could initiate a comprehensive mapping assessment to determine optimal and equitable charger locations based on local needs and transportation patterns.
- Zoning and Permitting Policies: Watsonville’s City Planning Department could revise zoning and permitting policies to require EV charger installation or EV-ready electrical infrastructure at certain priority locations.
- Electricity Rate Optimization: The CPUC and utility companies could implement electricity rates that reduce the cost of charging during off-peak hours and improve transparency for consumers about these rates.
- Community Awareness Campaigns: The state transportation agencies could expand support for community based organizations in Watsonville that conduct targeted, multi-lingual public awareness campaigns about the potential cost savings and benefits from switching to EVs.
By prioritizing charging access, state and local leaders can ensure that California’s path toward equitable EV deployment is not only aspirational but also achievable, particularly for the lowest-income drivers in the state. The lessons learned from Watsonville can serve as an example for other cities grappling with similar challenges, ultimately contributing to a more inclusive and sustainable transportation landscape.
Read our full report here- Charging up the Central Coast: Policy solutions to improve electric vehicle charging access in Watsonville
