California citizens are calling for more attention to custom gas pump labels.
“To help drivers more fully comprehend the climate crisis and, most importantly, tackle their own transport-related emissions, a climate change information label at the gas pump would be a cheap and efficient way to start this process” says Jamie Brooks at The Daily Californian.
Indeed, other countries have begun this practice already. Starting next year, Sweden will require custom climate change labels on all gas pumps, and recently, it moved to ban sales of internal combustion engines by 2030.
These “eco-labels” do more than remind drivers that burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change; they draw attention to the differences in climate impacts between various fuel choices by assigning comparisons between them. Conventional gasoline receives a “high climate impact” rating, while biofuels and electric charging stations earn a lower-impact designation.
Although State Assembly member Phil Ting is introducing a ban stating that all vehicles must be zero emissions by 2040, we would like to see a similar legislative move to introduce climate labels in Sacramento.
