Congestion pricing has been a once-in-a-lifetime success story, leading to cleaner air, better transit and faster and safer traffic throughout the city. We knew that to do this right, we had to bring real air quality improvements directly to parts of New York City that have been neglected for far too long.
President Donald Trump has long fought California's efforts to curb tailpipe emissions and spur electric vehicle adoption, and last summer he blocked the state's first-in-the-nation ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. He's also routinely criticized California's highest-in-the-nation gas prices, which are largely due to taxes and environmental regulations.
California has decided that if the U.S. government is going to slash electric-vehicle incentives, it needs to keep the momentum going itself with $200 million in state funds to promote cleaner cars. California Gov. Gavin Newsom's latest proposal reveals a bit more about how exactly it plans to plug the gap. The program's finer details are still hazy. But we know this: The policy would require manufacturers to match the state's contribution dollar-for-dollar, effectively doubling the incentive.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced an end Thursday to credits to automakers who install automatic start-stop ignition systems in their vehicles, a device intended to reduce emissions that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said everyone hates. In remarks with President Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House, Zeldin called start-stop technology the Obama switch and said it makes vehicles die at every red light and stop sign. He said the credits, which also applied to options like improved air conditioning systems, are now over, done, finished.