A plan to reduce fossil fuels and hasten carbon neutrality will impact the state’s electric grid and shut down small businesses, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in California.
“It would burst our electric grid at a time when we cannot afford blackouts and if California experiences another blackout because of a well-intentioned but flawed electrification ruling, we're going to see millions, if not tens of millions, of people impacted by an economic and commerce system that has to put on its brakes,” said John Kabateck, NFIB’s California state director.
The 2022 draft Climate Change Scoping Plan, issued last week by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), proposes shifting away from petroleum and embracing hydrogen and renewable gas options.
“Most of the climate action plan is focused on electrification,” Kabateck told the Southern California Record. “Requiring everybody to pivot to charging stations and electric vehicles from trucks at agricultural farms and in our inner cities to single mothers and parents who drive their children to school, the doctor, or just getting to work is going to overload the already heavily-impacted electric grid in our state.”
According to a press release, the 2022 draft is the third update to the initial 2008 Scoping Plan, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.
“California is not on track to build enough charging stations to meet [electric vehicle] demand and we may see movement towards these goals sooner rather than later,” Kabateck said. “The action plan will outright ban the sale of new gas cars, trucks, and hybrid vehicles and mandates that all new vehicle sales be 100% electric by 2035. By the year 2026, which isn't that too far off in the distance, the plan will significantly scale down vehicle emissions.”
Instead of electrifying transportation, the NFIB California would prefer to see state leaders employ innovation and science to curb emissions.
“There is unanimity from the petroleum industry, the business community, environmentalists, and local elected officials that we should address the problem with emissions but not with outright bans and mandates because if they are over-the-top aggressive with this plan and our hospitals and school districts, for example, can't afford this technology by the deadline our state is requiring, then not only will our kids and schools suffer but taxpayers and our first responders will be impacted,” Kabateck said.
The draft plan is currently undergoing a 45-day public comment period.
"By their very own modeling, the California Air Resources Board scoping plan has identified that this will lead to at least 80,000 job losses and $18 billion in costs to Californians and to our communities.," Kabateck added.