California to ban the sale of new gasoline cars: ‘This is huge’

Gasoline cars are set to be formally banned in California, the first announcement of its kind in the United States, which is being heralded as a major leap towards the country’s net-zero target.

Under plans which will be brought into effect on Thursday, Californians will be unable to purchase new gas-powered cars from 2035 onwards, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

The rule, issued by the California Air Resources Board, requires all new cars in the state to be free of fossil fuels by that year.

“This is huge,” said Margo Oge, an electric vehicles expert who oversaw the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations’ Environmental Protection Agency’s transportation emissions programmes.

“California will now be the only government in the world that mandates zero-emission vehicles. It is unique.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement that it showed that “CA continues to lead the way”.

California has the largest vehicle market in the US, and has forged a path with ambitious legislation to tackle the climate crisis.

According to the Times, at least five states could introduce a similar gasoline vehicle ban within the next year.

Currently, only 6 per cent of cars sold in the US are electric with the country trailing the market shares in some European countries and China.

Last year, President Joe Biden signed an executive order which aims to have half of all new vehicles sold in the US by 2030 be zero-emissions.

The recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act will also provide tax credits to support electric vehicles purchases.

The legislation, which also has a host of clean energy incentives, is expected to cut the US’s domestic carbon footprint by 40 per cent by 2030, according to a number of independent analyses.