In an effort to boost the development and adoption of electric vehicles (EV), California plans to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles in the state by 2035. Under the proposed policy, the state would only allow new vehicles powered by either electricity or hydrogen onto the market.
"The climate crisis is solvable if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to stem the tide of carbon pollution," California Governor Gavin Newsom said during his announcement of the proposed plan, calling it "the action we must take if we're serious about leaving this planet better off for future generations."
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is set to vote on the policy on August 25. Along with the 2035 goal, the plan also lays out a series of benchmarks for the state to meet, including making sure one-third of all vehicles sold annually in the state are EVs by 2026.
While the policy would be the country's most aggressive plan to reduce pollution from gas-fueled cars, it still allows the sale of used gas-powered vehicles, and the right to own and drive them won't change.
Following the 2035 deadline, the policy also states that one-fifth of vehicle sales can be made up of plug-in hybrids that run on either gas or electricity. Still, the plan would represent a significant shift in attitude for some parts of the state where gas still holds sway: California is still the seventh-largest oil-producing state in the country, though efforts from lawmakers are likely to reduce that production.
Those same areas are also likely to suffer due to a lack of charging stations. Currently, the state has just 80,000 public charging stations but wants to establish 250,000 stations by 2025. However, the carmaker advocacy group Alliance for Automotive Innovation has questioned the state's ability to meet that goal.
According to the group, California doesn't have the infrastructure, raw materials for batteries, or supply chain elasticity to establish the remaining charging stations before 2025.
"Whether or not these requirements are realistic or achievable is directly linked to external factors like inflation, charging and fuel infrastructure, supply chains, labor, critical mineral availability and pricing, and the ongoing semiconductor shortage," the advocacy group's president, John Bozella, said in a statement. "These are complex, intertwined and global issues well beyond the control of either the CARB or the auto industry."
Still, out of all of the states, California may be in the best position to implement the 2035 policy: roughly 43% of all plug-in vehicles in the U.S. are located in the Golden State, despite the fact that California only makes up around 10% of the car market.
However, it's also important to keep in mind California's difficulty in maintaining reliable access to electricity for residents. As the state transitions from gas to renewable sources, officials have warned that it could run out of energy to cool residents' homes in the peak of the summer heat, but no shut-offs have occurred so far this year.
With plans to introduce hundreds of thousands of new charging stations, the state's energy grid would be placed under even greater strain.
"I don't know if it's realistic," said Autotrader
Canada, the European Union, and parts of China have passed similar legislation establishing a 2035 deadline for ending sales of new gas-powered cars. Massachusetts, New York, and Washington have also either introduced similar plans or signed onto the new California policy.
California has served as a bellwether for emission rules for years, with 17 different states adopting some or all of the state's regulations.
The Environmental Protection Agency lets California set its own standards for emissions, but a sitting president could challenge that permission. It's unlikely that President Joe Biden will challenge the new climate protection efforts, but a future Republican president may attempt to reverse the 2035 plan.
"We always reserve the right to amend the regulation at any point," said CARB's sustainable transportation chief Jennifer Gress. "We will certainly be monitoring this one closely is - how is the market doing."
