California’s Ban on Gas Cars Can’t Fail

i bet it can

California’s Ban on Gas Cars Can’t Fail

eThat sound you heard on Wednesday was the roar of 1,000 engines sputtering with the knowledge that the end is nigh. That’s when California announced it would begin phasing in a ban on sales of new gas-powered cars in the state: By 2035, per terms first laid out in a 2020 executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom, automakers will no longer be allowed to sell cars within state lines unless they’re powered by electric-charge batteries or hydrogen fuel cells (or are plug-in hybrids, in certain instances). Companies will also have to meet benchmarks along the way: By 2026, 35 percent of their sales must consist of zero-emission vehicles, and by 2030, 68 percent. The California Air Resources Board will enforce these standards, with the power to impose fines on carmakers that violate the rule, and to ensure the batteries used in their electric vehicles are long-lasting and recyclable.



It can be said with no hyperbole that this is a game-changer. A former Environmental Protection Agency official told the New York Times that “California will now be the only government in the world that mandates zero-emission vehicles.” (Emphasis mine.) A clean-air expert called the rules a “turning point in cleaning up pollution.” Plus, as California goes, so does the nation: 16 other states already adhere to longtime California policy on reducing carbon emissions from transportation—still the most climate-damaging sector to date—and increasing the use of “clean” and low-emission cars. If they do follow these new rules, about one-third of the nationwide automobile market could be entirely gas-free in 13 years. With Californian cities also forbidding the construction of new gas stations and rolling out more public spaces free of cars, it’s clear the Golden State is leading the way in shaping an American future beyond petroleum-guzzling vehicles. Just in time for the Inflation Reduction Act’s new EV incentives, too.

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