Gavin Newsom signs order banning sales of gas-powered cars in California by 2035

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday issued an executive order that would phase out sales of new gas-powered passenger cars by 2035, a move that he said would improve air quality and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet.

He signed the order two weeks after he pledged to fast-track California’s environmental goals in response to what he called a “climate damn emergency” — the wildfires that have burned a record-breaking 3.6 millon acres this year.

“This is the most impactful step our state can take to fight climate change,” Newsom said. “For too many decades, we have allowed cars to pollute the air that our children and families breathe. You deserve to have a car that doesn’t give your kids asthma. Our cars shouldn’t make wildfires worse – and create more days filled with smoky air. Cars shouldn’t melt glaciers or raise sea levels threatening our cherished beaches and coastlines.”

His order directs the California Air Resources Board to develop regulations mandating that all new passenger cars sold in the state by 2035 will be zero emission vehicles, meaning they will not require gas to drive.

The order also requires state agencies to partner with private sector industries to deploy affordable fueling and charging options for zero-emission cars.

Because of California’s historical air pollution problems, the federal Clean Air Act gives California the right to establish stricter guidelines than the federal government — so long as it gets a waiver from the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

President Donald Trump’s administration has attempted to rescind that power, saying the state’s standards are too strict for manufacturers. The Trump administration criticized Newsom’s order phasing out sales of new gas-powered cars, suggesting a waiver would not come from the Republican administration.

“This is yet another example of how extreme the left has become,” White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere told McClatchy. “They want the government to dictate every aspect of every Americans’ life, and the lengths to which they will go to destroy jobs and raise costs on the consumer is alarming. President Trump won’t stand for it.”

Groups representing car dealers and the oil industry issued statements criticizing Newsom’s order, arguing it would hurt the economy. State Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove of Bakersfield also blasted the order, saying electric vehicles won’t be affordable for many Californians.

“Forcing everyday Californians to join Gavin’s EV Club will cost families tens of thousands at a time when our state already has the highest poverty rate in the country,” she wrote in a post on Twitter.

GM’s stake in electric truck company

Auto manufacturers in recent years have been making significant investments in zero-emission vehicles. General Motors this month bought a $2 billion stake in electric truck manufacturer Nikola.

Newsom at his press conference boasted California is already home to a thriving electric vehicle industry with dozens of manufacturers operating here, the largest of which is Tesla.

“This is the future. There’s no question that we’re going to switch to electric vehicles,” said Dan Sperling, a UC Davis engineering professor and meber of the Air Resources Board. “It’s really just a question of how fast and exactly what technology we use.”

The transportation sector is responsible for more than half of all of California’s carbon pollution, according to the California Air Resources Board. According to the governor’s office,the executive order would achieve a 35% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to mandating new cars to be zero-emission by 2035, the California Air Resources Board is to direct all operation of medium and heavy-duty vehicles to be zero-emission by 2045, where feasible.

Although the order would require new cars sold at dealerships to be zero-emission, it would not prevent Californians from owning gasoline-powered cars or selling them on the used car market.

California ZEV sales

California has long fought to limit car emissions by encouraging consumers and industries to favor zero-emission vehicles.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2012 ordered state agencies to work toward a goal of putting 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on California roadways by 2025. In 2015, he signed a nonbinding agreement with 12 other North American and European governments, with the goal of making all new passenger vehicles sold in California zero-emission by 2050.

But the state’s efforts to put zero-emission vehicles on the roads have been slow-going. Since 2011, Californians have bought just over 700,000 electric cars, with 156,000 sold in 2019.

That means sales of zero-emission vehicles represent less than 10% of new car sales. Californians bought 1.8 million new cars, according to the California New Car Dealers Association.

California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols acknowledged the Trump administration’s challenges to California’s ability to set its own emissions rules, but said she believes the action Wednesday is well within California’s authority.

“The work that we did with these waivers to address our air quality issues in the state, they’re all at peril,” he said. “They’re being litigated and they’ll be adjudicated ultimately in the Supreme Court.”

In the meantime, Newsom and Nichols framed the new executive order in optimistic terms, saying it will help California compete economically in the green energy sector.

The order “will transform the California transportation picture completely,” Nichols said at a press conference in Sacramento. “In 15 years, it will have dramatically reduced the emissions from this industry and brought in a new generation of cleaner vehicles.”

Newsom said the new order will vault California to the front of the green energy industry as global demand moves to zero-emission vehicles.

“This is the next big global industry. California wants to dominate it,” he said.

Reporter Michael Wilner of McClatchy’s Washington, D.C. Bureau contributed to this report.

This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 10:32 AM with the headline "Gavin Newsom signs order banning sales of gas-powered cars in California by 2035."