By Alice Seeley
Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced that his state will follow California and ban the sale of new gas and diesel cars by 2035.
“This is a critical milestone in our climate fight. Washington set in law a goal for all new car sales to be zero emissions by 2030, and we’re ready to adopt California’s regs by end of this year,” Governor Inslee wrote.
The new California policy requires 100% of new sales of cars, trucks, and SUVs in the state to be powered by electricity or hydrogen by 2035, with one-fifth allowed to be plug-in hybrids. The exact regulations for Washington have not been created yet. According to the Seattle Times, the public can eventually weigh in.
More than 40% of Washington’s greenhouse gas emissions are transportation-related emissions. The state currently has over 100,000 electric vehicles registered, 8% of its registered cars. According to data from the Department of Licensing, around 20% of new car registrations in Washington in July were either electric or hybrid. This ban does not restrict the sales of used gas and diesel cars, and owners of gas and diesel cars purchased out of state will still be allowed to register them.
Ranking member of the Washington House’s transportation committee, Andy Barkis, said he feels the push to ban internal combustion engines would hurt both manufacturers and consumers.
“I believe the market is best to continue to determine how we transition,” he said.
Washington is not the only state following California. More than a dozen states follow California Air Resources Board’s standards, including Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington D.C. However, Washington is the only state so far to announce it is adopting the 2035 deadlines.
