California lawmakers have approved a plan to restrict and eventually ban the sale of gasoline-powered cars.
The new policy is expected to accelerate the global transition to electric vehicles. California is not only the largest automotive market in the United States, but more than a dozen other states typically follow California’s lead in setting their own automobile production standards. New York, Washington, and Massachusetts, for example, are already working on similar plans.
The rule, issued by the California Air Resources Board, will require that all new cars sold in the state by 2035 be free of greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide. The rule also sets interim targets, requiring that 35% of new passenger vehicles sold by 2026 produce zero emissions. This requirement rises to 68% by 2030.
Transportation is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country.
President Donald Trump fought against California’s authority to set its own rules regulating pollution in the automobile industry. There is a possibility that a future president may also fight against the full implementation of the new rules. Additionally, a group of Republican state attorneys general has already filed a lawsuit challenging California’s ability to set its own pollution rules.
Critics of policies that encourage the rapid adoption of electric vehicles point out that the prices of these types of cars are still much higher than similar gasoline-powered cars.
In California, the new rule is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles by more than 50% by 2040, according to state lawmakers. This equates to eliminating 395 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions during that period, or the equivalent of burning 915 million barrels of oil, according to Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Resources Board.
However, the state still needs to submit the final proposal to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval. The Biden administration has already signaled that it will likely grant it.