Interview: California’s Car Rules Help Remake U.S. Auto Industry

With the passage last month of strict new auto emission and air pollution standards, California once again demonstrated its role as the U.S.’s environmental pacesetter. The driving force behind these new “clean car” rules — which require that 15 percent of all new cars sold in California by 2025 emit little or no pollution — is Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board. As a result of the rules, 1.4 million zero- and low-emission vehicles are expected be in California auto showrooms within a dozen years. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Nichols explains why California has consistently led the U.S. in passing the toughest air pollution standards, why Detroit automakers have decided to support California’s new rules, and why U.S. and international car makers are on the verge of a clean-car revolution. “Auto manufacturers have finally come to the conclusion that their future lies in very efficient, very clean vehicles,” says Nichols.

Read the interview