California plans to ban sales of new gas- powered cars in 15 years

California plans to ban the sale of new gasolinepowered cars statewide by 2035, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday, in a sweeping move aimed at accelerating the state’s efforts to combat global warming amid a deadly and record- breaking wildfire season.

In an executive order, 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 pickups, until they made up 100% of new auto sales just 15 years from today.

The plan would 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 Californians’ reliance on driving by, for example, expanding access to mass transit and biking.

“This is the next big global industry,” Newsom said at a news conference Wednesday, referring to clean- energy technologies such as electric vehicles. “And California wants to dominate it.”

California has long cast itself as a global leader on climate- change policy, having passed a law to get 100% of its electricity from wind, solar and other sources that don’t produce carbon dioxide by 2045. But in recent weeks, as the state has been scorched by record wildfires partly driven by rising temperatures, Newsom has found himself pressured to act even faster.

Ramping up sales of emissions- free vehicles in California will be an enormous challenge over a relatively short period of time, experts said. Last year, only about 8% of the nearly 2 million passenger vehicles sold statewide were battery- electric or plug- in hybrid vehicles. Transportation remains California’s largest source of planetwarming emissions, accounting for about 40% of the state’s greenhouse gases from human activity.

“We have a strategy to be as bold as the problem is big, to recognize that we have agency,” Newsom said at the news conference, where he stood before a glittering half circle of electric cars. “We’re not just victims of fate.”

In addition to setting new standards for automakers in the state, California also likely will need to increase financial incentives for people to afford electric vehicles and significantly expand its charging infrastructure, said Don Anair, deputy director of the clean vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group.

“It’s feasible, but it’s going to take California pulling all the levers at its disposal,” Anair said.

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.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group that represents most of the nation’s automakers, said it welcomed efforts to expand the electric- vehicle market in California but questioned whether a ban on internal combustion engines was the best way to achieve that goal.

“Neither mandates nor bans build successful markets,” said John Bozzella, the alliance’s chief executive, in a statement. “Much more needs to be done to increase consumer demand for Zero Emission Vehicles in order for California to reach its goals. It will require increased infrastructure, incentives, fleet requirements, building codes, and much more.”