The state of California has passed a new law banning the sale of new combustion cars by 2035, in a radical move to achieve carbon neutrality.
The new measures were approved by the California government, sealing the fate of all light combustion engine cars in the state, California Air Resources Board (CARB) has previously set a more ambitious goal, hoping to achieve zero emission transportation by 2026. However, the newly approved measures extended the deadline until 2035.
California Air Resources Board member Daniel Sperling released a statement after the signing of the new act: "This is monumental. This is the most important thing that CARB has done in the last 30 years. It's important not just for California, but it's important for the country and the world,"
The details of the act reveal a gradual transition but a very aggressive one nonetheless, a 35 percent ratio should be achieved by 2026. In 2028 the percentage of electric cars should reach 51 percent, and 68 percent in 2030, reaching 100 percent in 2035. The act further specifies that 20 percent of these quotas can be plug-in hybrids.
The least we can say about these goals is that they are very ambitious, considering that the current percentage of electric cars in the state is 12.3 percent.
California took advantage of the recent US Environmental Protection Agency waiver under the Clean Air Act that allowed the state to regulate its automotive sector and set its decarbonization plans.
This legal movement started back in 2020 when California governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to ban all passenger combustion vehicles by 2035. Now other states are following suit, chief among them the state of New York, setting similar goals to those of California.
The benefits of such decisions are numerous, and CARB listed some of them. The agency started by highlighting the impact on public health, stating that between 2026 and 2040 the state will register; 1,272 fewer cardiopulmonary deaths, 208 fewer hospital admissions for cardiovascular illness, 249 fewer hospital admissions for respiratory illness, and 639 fewer emergency room visits for asthma.
The economic impact is similarly significant, CARB said that the new measures would reduce the cost of transportation in California by $81.8 billion, or $5.9 billion on average per year, from 2026 to 2040.
However, all the concerned actors should work in perfect harmony to ensure a smooth transition, that’s what the Alliance for Automotive Innovation said, highlighting the work that carmakers should do and the commitment that federal, state, and local governments should have. The EV sales campaign should be aggressive and the infrastructure should grow accordingly.
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