Calif. Governor bans new gasoline car sales by 2035, orders EV charging buildout

S&P Global

Citing the transportation sector’s majority share of California’s greenhouse gas emissions amid the escalating climate crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 23 issued an executive order effectively banning the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks by 2035. Newsom’s order will also require zero-emission medium- to heavy-duty vehicles by 2045 “everywhere feasible” and charge state agencies with ensuring the buildout of sufficient electric-vehicle charging infrastructure.

“We are experiencing unprecedented weather,” Newsom said during a media briefing, pointing to the crushing heatwave and recent wildfires that have consumed roughly 3.7 million acres, a combination that triggered widespread power outages. “So as a consequence we have to deliver more than platitudes. We have to deliver more than proposals and promises well into the future. We’ve got to deliver in the application of our ideals.”

The electrification of transportation is an “economic opportunity to transform our economy” and chance to bring manufacturing and “green collar jobs” to California, Newsom added. “This is the next big global industry and California wants to dominate it.”

Clean Power Alliance, a community choice aggregator that procures power for roughly three million customers in Southern California, applauded the executive order and committed to launching a new program to increase the number of EV charging stations in the region.

“We will continue to expand the supply of renewable energy and energy storage so that these vehicles can be powered by reliable, pollution-free energy,” Clean Power Alliance Executive Director Ted Bardacke said in an email.

Read more here: https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/blog/essential-energy-insights-september-2020