California governor announces state will phase out all new gasoline-powered cars by 2035

Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that California will phase out gasoline-powered cars by 2035, in order to reduce the state’s carbon emissions.

Mr Newsom issued an executive order on Wednesday that will require all new cars and trucks sold in California to be zero-emission vehicles by the 2035 deadline at the latest.

The governor said that transportation accounts for more than half of the state’s carbon emissions, and confirmed that this order will cut greenhouse gas emissions in the US’ most populous state by 35 per cent, according to ABC.

The Democrat said that the executive order will not make it illegal to own a gasoline-powered vehicle after the 2035 deadline, or to resell one in the state as used.

This commitment has already been made by 15 other countries around the world, including France and Germany.

The California Air Resources Board are also working towards creating regulations that would require the direct operation of medium and heavy-duty vehicles to be zero-emission by 2045, according to the Sacramento Bee.

“This is the most impactful step our state can take to fight climate change,” Mr Newsom said during a press conference in Sacramento on Wednesday.

He added: “For too many decades, we have allowed cars to pollute the air that our children and families breathe. You deserve to have a car that doesn’t give your kids asthma.”

During the conference on Wednesday, Mr Newsom also directed officials to speed up the development of new electric car charging stations across California, and called for new fracking licenses to be eliminated by 2024.

Mr Newsom was asked about whether the cost of electric cars might make it harder for California residents to make the switch, but the governor said that the price of electric cars are falling, and that he expects a “price parity” with gasoline-powered vehicles in the next few years.

He added: “The difference is you don't have to pay any money at the pump. The difference is within a zero-emission vehicle, you have lower maintenance costs, you have lower operating costs.”

Mr Newsom is likely to face pushback against the policy from the White House, as president Donald Trump has previously attempted to ban California from setting its own emission targets that differ from the rest of the US.

The executive order has come after wildfires ravaged large areas of the state over the last month, destroying homes and wildlife.

In response to the wildfires across the west coast, the Associated Press reported that scientists, along with the governors of Oregon, California and Washington, have said that climate change is the reason for the widespread damage in recent weeks.

They reported that plants and trees dying out due to climate change are partly behind the unprecedented fires, and that the level of pollution needs to be tackled to prevent repeated incidents.

After Mr Trump blamed forest management for the wildfires last week, Mr Newsom angrily told him that “climate change is real, and that is exacerbating this.

“Please respect, and I know you do, the difference of opinion out here as it relates to this fundamental issue...of climate change.”

Mr Newsom referenced the wildfires while announcing the executive order on Wednesday, and said: “Our cars shouldn’t make wildfires worse – and create more days filled with smoky air.

“Cars shouldn’t melt glaciers or raise sea levels threatening our cherished beaches and coastlines.”