California is set to roll out its long-awaited ban on new gasoline cars on Thursday, which is part of its rule to have all new cars sold by 2035 to be electric only in an effort to fight climate change.
Governor Gavin Newsom first announced the ban in 2020 as a means to reduce the amount of smog-induced pollution in the air, which will improve the state’s air quality that is the worst in the US.
The move will also make California the first in the world to mandate zero-emission vehicles on its roads.
Thursday’s launch will require that 35 percent of new passenger vehicles sold in the state by 2026 produce zero emissions, then 68 percent by 2030 and ultimately 100 percent five years after.
California is starting its ban on the sale of new gasoline vehicles. This is part of its larger plan to produce only new vehicles that run entirely on electric power by 2035
‘The climate crisis is solvable if we focus on the big, bold steps needed to stem the tide of carbon pollution,’ Newsom said in a statement Wednesday.
The move, according to Newson, will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent in the nation’s most populous state.
The move does not ban the public from owning gas-powered cars or selling them on the used car market, but puts an end to new models being sold.
California already has rules mandating a certain percentage of new car sales must be electric or zero-emission vehicles, but the new ban means all must be zero-missions by 2035.
The ban aims to reduce the amount of smog-induced pollution in the air, which will improve the state’s air quality that is the worst in the US.
The state’s announcement is piggybacking on President Joe Biden’s signoff of a landmark climate change bill last week.
The legislation includes the most substantial federal investment in history to fight climate change — some $375 billion over the decade – with the goal of reducing emissions by 40 percent across the nation to levels below 2005 by the end of the decade, The New York Times reports.
‘Pull away from the gas pumps,’ Newsom said when he announced the move in 2020.
‘Let us no longer be victims of geopolitical dictators that manipulate global supply chains and global markets.’
California is the world’s fifth-largest economy and Californians account for more than one out of every 10 new vehicles sold in the US.
