Breathe Southern California actively works to ensure that all Southern California residents are breathing clean air and protecting and improving their lung health. We engage elected and appointed officials, regulatory agencies, and stakeholders to ensure that we as a state and a region are making meaningful improvements in our air quality. Select a menu below to learn more about our End Diesel Now campaign, our legislative efforts, our coalition work, and projects. Should you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding our advocacy work, please contact the Advocacy & Policy department at advocacy@breathesocal.org
Residents, families, and children throughout the greater Southern California region are breathing dirty air that has the potential to create a lifetime of health problems. In 2020, across the basin that includes the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino, there were 157 bad air days for ozone pollution – the most days above the federal health standard since 1997. To make a significant impact on improving air quality and reducing air pollution, we must meaningfully address the diesel problem and end diesel now.
The solution? Let’s phase out the sale, use, and distribution of diesel fuel. Due to the harmful health impacts of diesel pollution, we are proposing to phase out diesel fuel sales by 2030 by instituting a cap on the amount of diesel fuel sold in California. Beginning in 2022, each subsequent year’s diesel sales will be capped at a percentage of 2020’s sales, which will be used as the baseline, starting at 80 percent, and decreasing every year. By 2030 and every year thereafter sales of diesel fuel will not exceed 3 percent of the amount sold in 2020. This market-based approach will address air quality, public health, the climate crisis, ocean and water protection, soil protection, and the economy while incentivizing use of the cleanest technologies available.
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