Experts say that a new regulation in California—a ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035—will become one of the world’s most important climate change policies. As of now, only 12 percent of vehicles are electric, or emit no fossil fuels, which represent the nation’s primary contribution to greenhouse gas pollution. Mandating zero-emissions vehicles represents a previously out-of-reach goal that was made possible by last week’s Inflation Reduction Act, which, as the largest-ever federal effort to combat climate change, invests $370 in clean energy programs. This California regulation “will set the global high-water mark for the accelerated transition to electric vehicles,” Drew Kodjak, the executive director of the International Council on Clean Transportation, told The New York Times. California’s ban comes in phases: By 2026, 35 percent of new vehicles sold in the state must be zero-emissions, and by 2030, 68 percent must meet this requirement. With California being the largest auto market in the U.S., and at least 12 states poised to set similar auto emissions standards thanks to its precedent, experts hope that this could be a turning point in the widespread promotion of electric vehicles and reduction of auto pollutions.
