EPA approves new ban on sales of gasoline cars in California

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved California’s plan to phase out and ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars and light trucks by 2035. reported that the EPA granted California the waivers it needed to enact what was devised and approved by the California Air Resources Board in 2022.

The EPA also approved California’s plan to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from heavy vehicles in order to reduce the amount of smog in the air. The state will require an initial 75 percent reduction in NOx pollution, followed by a 90 percent reduction a few years later.

ACC II provides an annual plan to phase out the sale of combustion engine vehicles. The plan sets a 2026 deadline by which 35 percent of the state’s auto sales must be electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids or hydrogen fuel cell models. Then, by 2030, the electric vehicle sales threshold increases to 68 percent before reaching its final 100 percent sales requirement by 2035. Consumers and dealers will still be able to buy, sell and drive used ICE and hybrid cards until the ACC II. California Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph estimated ACC II could lead to a 50 percent drop in pollution by 2040.

California Governor Gavin Newsom praised the decision and ACC II in as evidence that “California can rise to the challenge of protecting our people by cleaning our air and reducing pollution.”