The state of California should be leading the world in environmental protection and the transition to clean energy. We should not be exporting dirty pollution. Period.
That, however, is exactly what Caltrain is doing by donating its decommissioned, diesel locomotives, which spew filthy emissions, to the developing country of Peru. It’s an incredibly bad example for the rest of the world because it lowers the clean-energy bar.
That’s why I authored Senate Bill 30, which prohibits the future resale, donation or transfer of decommissioned diesel locomotives for continued use.
Caltrain made the decision to donate the trains to Peru after it electrified the system between San Jose and San Francisco. One of the main points of the rail electrification was to reduce diesel emissions in the San Jose to San Francisco corridor by 96%. But here’s the rub: By keeping the same trains in service in Peru, Caltrain is just exporting the pollution problem south, making our gain in California a global wash.
Climate change is a worldwide problem and requires worldwide solutions. The diesel emission dangers to health and the environment do not stop at our borders. In California, we don’t accept the threats of climate change for the people who live here or in any other country.
Exporting pollution to a developing county is hypocrisy at its worst. There is no concrete evidence demonstrating the diesel trains will benefit Peru as stated in an op-ed published by the Bay Area News Group on Feb. 5. Shipping Caltrain diesel locomotives to Peru will increase the risk of cancer and respiratory lung diseases there. Would we feel comfortable sending these dirty diesel trains to the Central Valley or Riverside? Why should we encourage Peru or any other country go down the wrong carbon emissions path with arcane technology when they have the opportunity to start clean.
My bill prohibiting the resale, donation, or transfer of decommissioned diesel locomotives for continued use makes it clear that the dangers of diesel pollution are the same regardless of where you are on the planet.
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Diesel emissions contain over 40 substances known to cause cancer. They have also been attributed to an increase in hospital admissions for heart disease and respiratory illness. These locomotives contribute significantly to air pollution, which has led to ground-level ozone that is damaging to vegetation, including crops. Diesel emissions also contribute to climate change.
President Trump has withdrawn the United States from the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change that aims to slow global temperature increases.
California is a world leader on climate issues. Now more than ever, it is vital to continue reducing global diesel emissions.
We are all fighting to decarbonize the same air.
State Sen. Dave Cortese chairs the Senate Transportation Committee.
