California Bans Gas-Fueled Vehicles, But They’re Still Here
Updated: Nov 28, 2022
In January 2018, California became the first state in the U.S. to ban the sale of gasoline-fueled cars and trucks. This means that by 2030, all new vehicles sold in California must run on alternative fuels such as electricity, natural gas, hydrogen, or biofuels.
In 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California will ban the sales of gas-fueled vehicles starting in 2035. This Executive Order entails all new vehicles sold after the given date to be zero-emission. If the board finalizes the plan in August, it could set the bar for the nation’s automobile industry. California is the largest auto market in the United States and the 10th largest in the world. The transportation sector is responsible for more than half of all of California's carbon pollution, eighty percent of smog-forming pollution, and ninety-five of toxic diesel emissions- all while communities in the Los Angeles Basin and Central Valley see some of the dirtiest and most toxic air in the country. As Newsom stated, "Cars shouldn't give kids asthma, make wildfire worse, melt glaciers or raise sea levels. In addition, 15 other states — including New York, Massachusetts, and North Carolina — have previously followed California’s moves regarding tailpipe emissions and may adopt similar proposals.
If successful the order will cause a more than 35% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions statewide, the governor's office said in the statement. Also, under the proposed rule the state will require 35 percent of new passenger vehicles sold in the state by 2026 to be powered by batteries or possibly hydrogen. Less than a decade from now it is expected that 100 percent of all new car sales to be free of the fossil fuel emissions chiefly responsible for global warming solution.
This order is also in response to President Biden's climate agenda faltering. He then signed an executive order last year 2021 calling for the US Government to ensure that half the vehicles sold in the United States be electric by the year 2030. Legislation that would help enable that transition by making sure that there is enough budget for Electric Vehicle Incentives, however, this is stalled by the senate. While on halt, he ordered oil companies to drill for more oil due to the alleviation of high gas prices.
Although this plan is considered to be very helpful to stop global warming and any other environmental issues cost by it environmental groups are divided about the plan. Don Anair, deputy director of the clean transportation program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the measure had improved since an earlier draft. He called it the “most important climate decision” that California’s air resource board will make this year. But Scott Hochberg, a transportation attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, accused California of taking “a slow road” and, in a statement, called for the state to end the sale of gas-powered vehicle sales five years earlier, by 2030. Mr. Sperling noted that several challenges remained, including building charging stations for vehicles and persuading consumers to buy electric vehicles. He said the final 20 to 30 percent would be the hardest part of the transition and would very likely require new policies and incentives. “We can’t get people to get vaccinated,” he said. “Why do we think we can get them to buy an electric car? What that means is, we’re going to have to get creative about making these vehicles attractive and compelling to consumers even beyond and above its inherent attributes.” Some environmental groups urged the board to set even tougher targets and transition faster toward electric vehicles, arguing the state should impose a rule to achieve 100% zero-emission vehicle sales by 2030, five years earlier than the current proposal.
Automakers, on the other hand, did not respond immediately to the proposed rule. In a joint statement last 2021 Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, the auto company formed this year after a merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot announced a "shared aspiration" to achieve sales of forty to fifty percent electric vehicles nationally by 2030.
This order was built due to global warming effects such as climate change, wildfires, and air pollution to mention a few. It is obviously raised for the betterment of the world and us people. The direction and plan is an awesome ideas but still, but there are still opinions to be considered procedures may take time so it is expected for possible delays due to possible certain obstacles but what is sure though is taking a step towards the plan.
Resources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/13/climate/california-electric-vehicles.html