“This is the most important thing that the California Air Quality Bureau has done in the last thirty years,” said Daniel Sperling, a member of this organization.
All new cars sold in California will have to be “zero emission” polluting, from 2035 at the latest, according to a text which must be adopted this week in this state at the forefront of efforts for an energy transition in the country.
The measure, which is to be debated Thursday by the California Air Quality Board (CARB), will formalize the objectives set in September 2020 by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, and which should encourage other States to do the same.
The project, which has a “99.9%” chance of being approved according to one of the CARB members, Daniel Sperling who spoke to CNN, provides for different stages. Both diesel and petrol vehicles are targeted.
“It’s monumental”
Thus in 2026, a third of car sales in California must concern “zero emission” vehicles, in other words, only vehicles running on electricity, hydrogen and certain hybrid vehicles, and it must be both third of sales by 2030.
“It’s monumental,” said Daniel Sperling. “It’s the single most important thing the California Air Quality Bureau has done in the past 30 years. It’s important not just for California, but for the country and the world.”
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 has 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.
The highly likely passage of the California measure is expected to come as President Joe Biden signed into law a sweeping climate and health investment plan last week, which includes a $370 billion package to cut emissions. greenhouse effect by 40% by 2030.
