Two more states are joining California in banning the sale of new passenger gas and diesel cars by 2035, with the list likely to grow in the coming months.
After the California Air Resources Board adopted new rules phasing in the transition last week, other states were cleared to follow suit as the state has a waiver allowing it to set its own air quality rules distinct from the federal government’s. States may adopt these regulations but they must be identical, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Under the new regulations, gas or hybrid vehicles sold prior to 2035 may continue to be driven and used vehicles can still purchased.
In Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee said they will adopt the regulations by the year's end.
We look forward to partnering with California and the Biden Administration to quickly eliminate our country’s #1 source of GHG emissions.
— Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) August 24, 2022
Massachusetts is poised to do the same after Gov. Charlie Baker signed a clean energy and offshore wind bill earlier this month that said the commonwealth would follow California's lead if they moved forward with a ban on internal combustion engine vehicles.
"California had to go first according to federal law, and now states can piggyback on to the California rule, which Governor Baker has pledged to do," Larry Chretien of the Green Energy Consumers Alliance told NBC Boston. "The legislature is now requiring that and so now the next step is for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to write the regulations that will make it happen."
At least a dozen other states will likely follow in California's footsteps and ban the sale of new gas vehicles, though there is widespread concern among critics that the infrastructure required to transition to EVs is not there.
Rep. Thomas Massie called the rapid push toward electric vehicles "impractical" and said it "will cause pain for middle class Americans."