Fast Charging the Fight Against Climate Change
- mediaoffice0
- Sep 25
- 3 min read
By Commissioner Nancy Skinner
The average Californian drives somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 miles per year. That’s enough miles for one driver to travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles and back roughly 20 times. Think of all the gas burned from that single vehicle and multiply that by California’s 25 million gas-powered vehicles. All of those harmful emissions act like a thick blanket of smog covering the state, negatively impacting our daily lives.
In fact, transportation is responsible for over 80% of the state’s smog-forming pollutants and is the largest single contributor to California’s greenhouse gas emissions. Five of the 10 U.S. cities with the worst air quality are in California — not our proudest talking point. This is why transitioning to zero-emission transportation is the best way to clean California’s air.
Replacing just one gas-powered car with an electric vehicle (EV) can prevent the release of 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, and unlike gas-powered cars, EVs have no need for a tailpipe. The cumulative effect of transitioning to EVs cannot be overstated. And as the federal government continues to chip away at our environmental and climate protections, individual action is more important than ever.
With over 2 million zero-emission vehicles on our roads, California is making progress to meet our zero-emission goals. As the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) lead commissioner for clean transportation, one aspect of my job is to ensure we’re making progress on building a statewide network of EV chargers so California EV drivers have the confidence that they’ll always be able to find a place to charge their car.
Yesterday, we announced a significant milestone: there are now over 200,000 EV charger installations in public and shared locations across California, along with over 800,000 chargers installed at EV owners' homes. This mid-year update saw a 25% increase in shared chargers – chargers installed at doctors' offices, entertainment venues, or workplaces – and a 14% increase in publicly accessible direct current fast chargers. In fact, 94% of Californians now live within 10 minutes of a public EV charger.
Fast chargers are becoming increasingly vital to the EV ecosystem, as they can charge an EV battery in 15 to 45 minutes, crucial for road trips and long-haul travel. With California’s history of innovation leading the charge, EV technology is only getting better. You’ll even soon be able to put your EV energy back into the grid with vehicle-to-grid integration. Some school districts, like Oakland’s, are already using this technology with their all-electric school bus fleet. These vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-grid innovations are technologies the CEC is proudly investing in.
State investments aren’t stopping, either. Earlier in September, the CEC approved a grant for $6 million to build at least 480 Level 2 EV charging ports at dozens of housing communities across California.
Beyond the vital environmental benefits, which I know are top of mind for the majority of Californians, there’s a lot to love about driving an EV. In fact, I just made the switch myself. I’m loving never having to smell gas fumes again or drip oil on my clothes. That’s right, now that I drive an EV, I am forever free from smelly gas stations or messy oil changes — and best of all, EVs are fun to drive!
While the Trump administration is doing what it can to stall clean transportation, federal EV incentives are available until September 30, 2025. Why not take advantage of up to $7,500 in federal tax credits while you still can? Whether you lease or buy, new or used, you can still get the credit.
Let’s not get it twisted: this is a fight for clean air and to avert climate catastrophe. We’re not backing down, and you shouldn’t either. Transitioning just one gas-powered vehicle to electric can make a difference. Take the charge today.
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