At-a-Glance:

California plans to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars statewide by 2035. In an executive order, Governor Newsom directed California’s regulators to develop a plan that would require automakers to sell steadily more zero-emissions passenger vehicles in the state, such as battery-powered or hydrogen-powered cars and pickup trucks, until they make up 100 percent of new auto sales in just 15 years. To learn more, read “California Plans to Ban Sales of New Gas-Powered Cars in 15 Years.” (Reading this article requires a subscription.)

Key Takeaways:

  • The plan would also set a goal for all heavy-duty trucks on the road in California to be zero emissions by 2045 where possible.
  • And the order directs the state’s transportation agencies to look for near-term actions to reduce Californian’s reliance on driving by, for example, expanding access to mass transit and biking.
    • Transportation remains California’s largest source of planet-warming emissions, accounting for roughly 40 percent of the state’s greenhouse gases from human activity.
  • The new executive order would build on California’s existing vehicle policies. State regulators have already set a goal of putting five million zero-emissions vehicles on the road by 2030.
  • The order would affect only new-vehicle sales, the governor’s office said. It would not prevent Californians from owning cars with internal combustion engines past 2035 or selling them on the used-vehicle market.

Path to 100% Perspective:

The path to 100% requires ongoing dialogue with utilities, policy makers and innovators to develop solutions that make sense for citizens. Wood McKenzie is now estimating 323 million electric vehicles will be on the road by 2040 and the price of batteries is decreasing faster than predicted. “The projected price of battery packs keeps dropping. We expect the US$100/KWh threshold to be breached by 2024, one year earlier than our previous projections,” said Ram Chandrasekaran, Wood Mackenzie Principal Analyst.

 

Photo by Ben Margot/Associated Press