California Governor Signs Order Banning Sales Of New Gasoline Cars By 2035

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An aerial view of the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif., in May. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Wednesday that bans the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles in the state by 2035.

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Environment And Energy Collaborative
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In January 2018, Gov. Jerry Brown signed an executive order setting ambitious targets of 200 hydrogen fueling stations and 250,000 electric vehicle chargers to support 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on California roads by 2025.

The number of zero-emission electric vehicles being sold in the state has been on the upswing in recent years, although they accounted for fewer than 8% of all new cars sold in California last year.

The California-based Coalition for Clean Air praised Newsom’s executive order, and the group said it was committed to helping fully implement the new policy.

«The Governor’s Executive Order is a meaningful step in addressing the climate crisis and protecting the health of Californians, the coalition said in an email to NPR. «Electrifying transportation will also create jobs and help California move forward in its economic recovery.

Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds, the online resource for automobile information, said, «Many automakers have been guilty of setting short-term targets for their electrification strategy that never came to fruition.

«This rule, if implemented, establishes a specific timeline that they’ll collectively need to adhere to, Caldwell said. «California is a major market that automakers desperately need to maintain sales.

A spokesman for the Institute for Energy Research, a think tank that often sides with the fossil fuel industry, called the move by Newsom «another silly distraction from real problems.

«Driving cars is not what causes forest fires or makes them worse, David Kreutzer, a senior economist at the institute, told NPR. «If people want to drive electric cars, they’ll buy them. You don’t have to eliminate the competition.

Kreutzer also pushed back at the notion that electric vehicles are zero-emission. «Electric cars might not have emissions at a tailpipe, but they do have emissions at the power plant, he said.