Dec. 18 (UPI) — The Environmental Protection Agency Wednesday granted California two waivers allowing the state to implement a ban on gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
The authority was given in two requests from the California Air Resources Board to enforce its Advanced Clean Cars II regulations.
“California has longstanding authority to request waivers from EPA to protect its residents from dangerous air pollution coming from mobile sources like cars and trucks,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan in a statement. “Today’s actions follow through on EPA’s commitment to partner with states to reduce emissions and act on the threat of climate change.”
The EPA said Wednesday that under the Clean Air Act, California can adopt emissions requirements independent from EPA’s regulations “to meet its significant air quality challenges.”
To do that California has to seek waivers from the EPA.
The state’s Advanced Clean Cars II regulations state, “By 2035 all new passenger cars, trucks and SUVs sold in California will be zero emissions. The Advanced Clean Cars II regulations take the state’s already growing zero-emission vehicle market and robust motor vehicle emission control rules and augments them to meet more aggressive tailpipe emissions standards and ramp up to 100% zero-emission vehicles.”
The regulations will be phased in between 2026 and 2035.
California has a large impact on vehicle regulations due to its big economy and population.
According to the California Air Resources Board, 17 states to date have adopted all or part of California’s low-emission and zero-emission vehicle regulations, which are allowed under the Clean Air Act.
The board said California faces “crisis driven by climate change – catastrophic weather, extreme and prolonged drought, sea level rise and wildfires – that require immediate and bold action.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order in September 2020 to end the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035.
The California Air Resources Board then began developing regulations to implement zero emissions plans for new cars and trucks sold in the state.