The administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has raised concerns about the plan of California Governor Gavin Newsom to ban sales of new gasoline and diesel-powered passengers cars in the state by 2035.
According to EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler, the plan could have significant impacts for the state’s electrical grid. He added that the move could be subject to federal approval, as in 2019, the EPA issued rules barring California from requiring the sale of electric vehicles. A court challenge over the matter is still pending.
Read Also: California Will Only Allow Sales Of New Zero Emission Vehicles By 2035
“California’s record of rolling blackouts – unprecedented in size and scope – coupled with recent requests to neighboring states for power begs the question of how you expect to run an electric car fleet that will come with significant increases in electricity demand, when you can’t even keep the lights on today,” Wheeler wrote in his letter to Governor Newsom.
California accounts for approximately 11 per cent of all U.S. vehicle sales and many states across the United States adopt its green vehicle mandates. The state’s clean car move is the most significant yet of any U.S. state and is similar to EV mandates being implemented in some countries and cities of Europe. However, it clashes with the pro-fossil fuel policies of the Trump administration, Reuters reports.
When announcing its plan to ban the sales of gasoline and petrol-powered vehicles by 2035, the Governor’s office said the transportation sector is “responsible for more than half of all of California’s carbon pollution, 80 per cent of smog-forming pollution and 95 per cent of toxic diesel emissions.”
