California to ban polluting cars by 2035

New cars sold in California will need to be at “zero emissions” polluting, from 2035 at the latest, according to a text adopted Thursday, August 25 in this state at the forefront of efforts for an energy transition in the country. “Rapidly accelerating the number of zero-emission vehicles on our roads and highways will drastically reduce emissions and pollution for all Californians”, underlined in a press release Liane Randolph, president of the Californian Bureau of Air Quality (CARB), which approved the measure. The text, which will effectively ban the sale of new diesel or gasoline cars from 2035, formalizes the objectives set in September 2020 by the Democratic governor of the state, Gavin Newsom.

By 2026, one-third of car sales in California must be “zero-emission” vehicles, in other words vehicles running on electricity, hydrogen and certain hybrid vehicles, and it must be two-thirds of sales by 2030. “The timeline is ambitious but achievable: When a child born this year is of college age, only zero-emissions vehicles and a limited number of plug-in hybrids will be available for sale for new cars in California”CARB noted.

1,290 deaths from cardiopulmonary diseases

The office also estimates that by 2037 the new standard will result in a 25% reduction in haze from light-duty vehicles. “This will benefit all Californians, but especially the most economically and environmentally burdened communities along highways and other high-traffic thoroughfares.”, added CARB. The latter also argues that, from 2026 to 2040, the new regulations will prevent 1,290 deaths from cardiopulmonary diseases in particular.

The state’s Democratic Governor, Gavin Newsom, welcomed the passage of the measure. The reduction in the number of polluting vehicles on the roads represents the equivalent of “emissions caused by 915 million barrels of oil”. California, with its more than 40 million consumers, is the largest market in the United States and its standards impact manufacturing across the country. General Motors had already announced in January 2021 its intention to no longer build cars with polluting emissions by 2035, even if the group has not openly committed to offering only electric vehicles in 13 years.

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The move in California comes as President Joe Biden signed into law a sweeping climate and health investment plan last week, which includes a $370 billion package to cut greenhouse gas emissions. greenhouse by 40% by 2030. In recent years, many countries have tried to limit pollution from the automotive sector. The United Kingdom, Singapore and Israel have committed to ending sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, and Norway has made this commitment for 2025.

According to scientists, human activity, in particular the use of fossil fuels, has led to global warming, which has in turn contributed to making extreme weather events more frequent and violent. One of the solutions to fight against this global warming therefore consists in limiting polluting emissions from fossil fuels, say the experts.