Washington state to ban sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035 after California | Washington State

Jay Inslee, the state’s governor, said Washington state will follow California and ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

Organizers in California on Thursday Go ahead with a historic plan To phase out gas-powered cars over the next 13 years in the largest US auto market.

The new policy requires 100% of new sales of passenger cars, trucks and SUVs in the state to run with electricity or hydrogen by 2035, while allowing a fifth of them to be plug-in hybrids.

The specific regulations for the state of Washington have not yet been established and the public will have an opportunity to express its views, The Seattle Times mentioned.

Transportation-related emissions account for more than 40% of Washington’s greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2020, state lawmakers passed a law directing the Department of the Environment to adopt California emissions standards. This year, they set a goal of phasing out sales of new internal combustion cars by 2030.

The State Council, set up by Inslee to plan for the future of electric cars, held its first meeting in July. Members discussed building a network of express charging stations on the state’s highways, said Anna Lesing, senior climate advisor at Inslee. This effort will be supported by $71 million from the federal government.

The state legislature has also allocated $69 million to create “community charging” stations for people who do not live in single-family homes.

Lesing said she expects the new regulations to incentivize manufacturers to make more and cheaper electric cars.

Nearly 20% of new car registrations in Washington in July were either electric or hybrid, according to data from the state Department of Licensing. In total, 104,000 electric vehicles — whether all-electric or hybrid-electric — are registered in the state, about 2.5 times the total from two years ago.

Massachusetts also said it would follow California’s lead, and more states are likely to follow suit. New York and Pennsylvania are among the 17 states that have adopted some or all of California’s exhaust emission standards, which are more stringent than the federal rules.

The policy passed in California on Thursday represents an exciting step in the fight to reduce emissions and combat the climate emergency.

However, the implementation of the new rules will require significant investments. California will need to expand public charging stations to accommodate the surge in electric vehicles.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents several major automakers, said meeting the state’s ambitious schedule will be difficult due to a lack of charging infrastructure, access to materials for batteries, and supply chain problems.

Even with the new rules, California’s transition to electric cars will take time because gas-powered cars will outnumber zero-emissions cars for years.

In Washington, Republican Representative Andy Parkes, the ranking member of the state House of Representatives Transportation Committee, said he felt pressure to ban internal combustion engines would hurt manufacturers and consumers.

“I think the market is the best to continue to define how we go,” he said.