Cars, trucks, SUVs, and other vehicles drive in traffic on the 405 freeway through the Sepulveda Pass in Los Angeles, California, on August 25, 2022. – California ruled Thursday that all new cars sold in America’s most populous state must be zero emission from 2035, in what was billed as a “nation-leading” step to slash the pollutants that cause global warming. / “The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Patrick T.
“The timeline is ambitious but achievable: by the time a child born this year is ready to enter middle school, only zero-emission vehicles or a limited number of plug-in hybrids will be offered for sale new in California,” the California Air Resources Board said. From 2026 through 2040 the regulation is expected to result in 1,290 fewer cardiopulmonary deaths, 460 fewer hospital admissions for cardiovascular or respiratory illness, and 650 fewer emergency room visits for asthma, it said.California already accounts for the lion’s share of electric vehicles in the United States, with 1.13 million of them on the state’s roads — 43 percent of the nation’s total.
But supporters say the incentives are necessary short-term supports that will fade away as increased adoption boosts economies of scale and drives down prices.