Governors' Wind Energy Coalition

New autonomous vehicles in California must have zero carbon emissions starting in 2030, a first-in-the-nation mandate with repercussions beyond the Golden State. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) last week signed legislation imposing the requirement, which affects light-duty passenger cars starting with 2031 models. California is one of a few states that serves as a laboratory for robot cars. Cruise LLC, Google’s Waymo LLC, Nuro Inc., Zoox Inc., BMW, Toyota Motor Corp. and more all have state approval to test in California, with several doing so in either the San Francisco or Los Angeles areas. About half the miles currently driven by robot cars are from zero-emissions vehicles, said Elizabeth Irvin, senior transportation analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists.