Written by David Shepardson
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The head of the state’s Clean Air Regulatory Commission said California’s selection of 2035 as the deadline to end sales of new cars limited to gasoline was the “ideal point” that would sharply cut emissions but was also realistic for the industry. Tuesday.
“We had to be cognizant of where the automakers are, where the supply chains are, and where the production facilities are,” California Air Resources Council President Lianne Randolph told Reuters in an interview during Climate Week. United Nations General Assembly.
“I feel like we just landed in the beautiful place.”
In August, the CARB said it would require all new vehicles sold in California by 2035 to be electric or hybrid electric (PHEVs) after Governor Gavin Newsom issued a 2020 executive order directing the move. The CARB said the rules will reduce smog pollution from light vehicles by 25% by 2037 and result in 9.5 million fewer conventional cars being sold by 2035. In 2035, automakers can sell no more than 20% of models like PHEVs.
California hasn’t been as aggressive as some environmental groups, or Tesla (NASDAQ :), would have liked, which have urged an end to new gas-powered vehicles by 2030.
“Of course the EV-only maker will want the highest possible level because that will create a market for their credits,” Randolph said.
California needs a waiver from the US Environmental Protection Agency to adopt the 2035 rules, which will open a request for public comment. “Obviously it’s their decision but I mean that’s why the waiver exists,” she said. “So the state of California can go ahead and protect its residents.”
President Joe Biden has called for 50% of all new car sales by 2030 to be plug-in electric or hybrid vehicles, but has not endorsed a phase-out date.
Some states that previously adopted California’s zero-emission vehicle rules have not signed up to a stricter phase-out date of 2035. “Colorado certainly isn’t California and Colorado has our own plan,” a spokesperson for the Colorado Environment Agency told Reuters.
“Some states are now ready” to adopt 2035 while others will feel more comfortable as the models continue to roll out, Randolph said.
She said the regulator has other transportation emissions cuts in place on medium and heavy duty trucks and locomotives within the country. Randolph added that the state is “working hard to consider Imperial Valley as a potential source of lithium” for electric vehicles.
