From Big Rigs to E-Bikes, California Electric Fest Showcases Clean Transportation in the Golden State
Event by Earthjustice and CALSTART will bring electric trucks, vehicles, and advocates to the state capitol
Contacts
Zoe Woodcraft, zwoodcraft@earthjustice.org
Julia Dionne, jdionne@earthjustice.org
Sasha Tenenbaum, stenenbaum@calstart.org
Earthjustice and CALSTART are holding a clean transportation event in Sacramento designed to charge up the electrification movement just as California lawmakers make critical decisions about the future of clean transportation funding. The message: from big rigs to e-bikes, cleaner vehicles are ready to be put to work in California to clean the air. Now is the time for state leaders to invest in these clean air, clean economy solutions.
The event will convene state lawmakers and a broad coalition of industry, community, labor, environmental, and public health advocates at the State Capitol, and showcase a wide range of electric vehicles in operation across California, including Class 8 trucks (big rigs), delivery vans, school buses, passenger vehicles, and e-bikes. Speakers will discuss the urgent need to invest in zero-emission vehicles and charging equipment in the California state budget.
WHO: The speakers across the legislature and organizations include:
- Michael Berube, President and CEO of CALSTART
- Adrian Martinez, Director of Earthjustice’s Right To Zero Campaign
- Senator Eloise Reyes
- Senator Dave Cortese
- Assemblymember Lori Wilson
- Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo
- Daisy Lopez, People’s Collective for Environmental Justice Action
- Will Barrett, American Lung Association
- John Doherty, CA State Association of Electrical Workers
WHEN: Tuesday, May 19th at 9:00am
WHERE: California State Capitol, Corner of 10th and N (see map here). A wide range of electric trucks and vehicles — including Class 8 trucks, delivery vans, school buses, passenger vehicles, and e-bikes — will be displayed along the perimeter of the event space on the corner of 10th and N.
WHY: It has never been more urgent for California to double down on clean transportation investments. As the federal government upends both federal and state clean air regulations, Californians have been left vulnerable to dangerous pollution. According to the American Lung Association’s latest State of the Air report, 574,500 kids in the state and nearly 2.5 million adults live with asthma. 18 California counties received failing grades for particle pollution, and Los Angeles continues to be the most ozone-polluted city in the nation.
The California Air Resources Board found that the dismantling of California’s critical transportation standards will send 14,500 Californians to an early death in the next two decades.
Clean energy jobs, including clean vehicles manufacturing, are a key part of California’s economy. In 2024, California’s clean economy employed 552,300 workers, and under that umbrella, the state’s clean vehicles sector employed a total of 72,641 workers. Employment in clean vehicles has grown 75 percent since 2020 compared to the state’s gas and diesel vehicle sector, which has been losing jobs since 2021.
The California Electric Fest will feature a broad range of electric vehicles that are already on the market and can clean up air pollution across the state today. Without sustained investment in zero-emission vehicles, California risks polluted skies, spiking asthma cases, increased costs for trucking fleets still reliant on volatile diesel prices, and hits to the state’s clean energy sector.
About Earthjustice
Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.