California to implement its ban on new internal combustion cars by 2035

By Greg Rasa - Aug 24, 2022

 

Plan first announced two years ago is expected to take effect Thursday

 

California on Thursday is expected to implement its plan, announced nearly two years ago, to ban the sale of new gasoline- or diesel-powered cars in the state by 2035.

The step comes on the heels of President Biden signing into law a sweeping federal climate change bill last week, which commits $370 billion to clean energy spending and tax credits. California's ban was first outlined in an executive order from Gov. Gavin Newsom in September 2020. Now the California Air Resources Board (CARB) votes to put it into effect.

“The climate crisis is solvable if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to stem the tide of carbon pollution,” Newsom said Wednesday. Regulators have spent the past two years working out the details of what Newsom termed “the action we must take if we’re serious about leaving this planet better off for future generations.”

“This is huge,” Margo Oge, an electric vehicles expert, told the New York Times. Oge headed the Environmental Protection Agency’s vehicle emissions program under Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. “California will now be the only government in the world that mandates zero-emission vehicles. It is unique.”

Many other states follow California's lead on matters of vehicle emissions, and 12 of them are expected to announce a similar policy soon; another five may take the step within the next year. And California itself is the largest automotive market in the nation.

Vehicle emissions are the nation's top source of greenhouse gases

California now mandates that 12% of vehicles sold in the state be electrified. The new requirements will move that target to 35% by 2026, 68% by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

The ban on sales is not, however, an outright ban on internal combustion. People can continue driving gas-fueled vehicles and purchasing used ones after 2035. The plan also allows for one-fifth of sales after 2035 to be plug-in hybrids that can run on batteries and gas.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation represents large U.S. and foreign automakers. John Bozzella, president of AAI, told the Times that California’s new 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,” Bozzella said.

Bozilla has been equally critical in recent days of the new requirements in the Biden administration's new law regarding EV battery manufacturing and materials sourcing. By his calculation, very few EVs currently qualify for the $7,500 credit under the new law, and none currently would when more of the requirements are implemented on Jan. 1, 2023.

There are practical hurdles to overcome to reach the goal, notably enough reliable power and charging stations. California now has about 80,000 stations in public places, far short of the 250,000 it wants by 2025. The AAI flagged the lack of infrastructure, access to materials needed to make batteries, and supply chain issues among the challenges to meeting the state’s timeline.

“These are complex, intertwined and global issues well beyond the control of either (the California Air Resources Board) or the auto industry,” Bozzella said.

Though the state makes up 10% of the U.S. car market, it’s home to 43% of the nation’s 2.6 million registered plug-in vehicles, according to the air board.

California was able to implement the new mandates because the Biden administration restored the "California waiver," a Clean Air Act exemption giving California the legal authority to set its own vehicle emissions rules, after the Trump administration had tried to do away with the waiver. Newsom likewise issued an order last year directing CARB to ban the sale of new gas-powered lawn equipment, which is especially polluting.

Automakers have been split on accepting California's right to set its own rules, but one of the biggest holdouts on the question, Toyota, just acknowledged the state's authority on the matter.

Ford, one of the automakers who backed California's fight with the Trump EPA, issued a statement Wednesday from Bob Holycross, the automaker's chief sustainability officer: "At Ford, combating climate change is a strategic priority, and we’re proud of our partnership with California for stronger vehicle emissions standards, forged during a time when climate action was under attack. We’re committed to building a zero-emissions transportation future that includes everyone, backed by our own investments of more than $50 billion by 2026 in EVs and batteries. The CARB Advanced Clean Cars II rule is a landmark standard that will define clean transportation and set an example for the United States." 

Meanwhile, 17 Republican state attorneys general have sued in an attempt to revoke the California waiver, so we haven't heard the last word on this issue.

Includes material from The Associated Press.

 

SOURCE: autoblog