California bans all gasoline cars by 2035 under the recently proposed plan as Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom is preparing to run for president.
On Thursday afternoon, California Air Resources Board approved the new regulations, requiring 35% of new cars sold in the state to be electric vehicles by 2026 and 100% by 2035.
According to the proposal, all new cars sold in California by 2035 will have to be zero emission and gasoline vehicles will be banned as part of President Joe Biden administration’s plan to drive the United States away from fossil fuel.
In a statement released by Daniel Sperling, a member of the air resources board and a founding director of the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, he claimed that the decision is “transformative,” and claimed that it would be remembered as a historical event and would likely be followed by other states.
Prior to the approval, board member Daniel Sperling claimed that he was “99.9%” confident that the proposal would be passed.
OPINION: California's crazy car ban forces drivers to go green and could drive rational people out of state https://t.co/WkvXTfDqil
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 27, 2022
“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.” Sperling told CNN.
According to Governor Newsom’s statement, “Our kids are going to act like it’s a rotary phone, or changing the channel on a television.”
Although many supports the objective of the new electric car mandate, vehicle manufacturers argued that the regulations are moving too fast and questioned whether they could meet the requirements for large numbers of zero-emission vehicles quickly.
“California’s mandates would be extremely challenging to meet. 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,” John Bozzella, president of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents large U.S. and foreign automakers, said.
“Automakers could have significant difficulties meeting the set targets given elements outside of the control of industry. These include, but are not limited to, significantly higher material costs, stressed supply chain and sourcing, inconsistent consumer incentives and inadequate charging infrastructure.” Laurie Holmes, senior manager for government and regulatory affairs for automaker Kia, explained.
Moreover, several small business groups also spoke against the regulation on Thursday, arguing that the added costs of buying an electric vehicle will put a burden on small businesses as the average cost of a new electric vehicle in California is $66,000.
The new regulation was approved amid questions over its safety and convenience in case calamity and disasters happen.
According to Fox News, California is the only state that has a wildfire season that results in blackouts.
“When that overgrowth is near electrical lines, deadly fires occur and California’s power-providers shut down power, sometimes days at a time,” Fox News wrote.
“California has an energy shortage. Period. Full stop.” It added.
The report also quoted the news release a couple of months ago where California energy officials forecasted that “the state’s electrical grid lacks sufficient capacity to keep the lights on this summer and beyond if heatwaves, wildfires or other extreme events take their toll.”
“Don’t forget that in 2020, California had to get electricity from neighboring states and eight different utility companies just to keep the lights on,” the mainstream media added.
