On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would ban the sale of gas cars. This is in response to California’s recent decision to do the same. The move comes as a response to concerns about climate change and the impact that gas cars have on air quality. Gas cars produce more emissions than electric cars, and they contribute to climate change because they use more oil and natural gas than electric vehicles. The mayor’s announcement comes as a surprise, given that New York City has been one of the most ardent supporters of electric vehicles. In fact, de Blasio has even said that he would like to see all New Yorkers using electric vehicles by 2030. This decision is likely to be met with criticism from some people who feel that it is not enough to focus on climate change when there are other pressing issues such as traffic congestion. However, this is likely to be a major victory for environmentalism in New York City, and it will help make the city an even more environmentally friendly place overall.
Governor Kathy Hochul of New York has directed the State Department of Environmental Conservation to require “all new passenger cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs” to be zero-emission by the year 2035. Notably, that rule only applies to the sale of new vehicles — sales of used gas cars can continue, and gas cars are not barred from driving on roads. However, the state is also planning “new pollutant standards” for light-duty gas trucks and medium-duty gas vehicles, which could also impact which cars can be sold or registered in New York.
New York said in a press release, “Proposing draft State regulations is a crucial step to further electrify the transportation sector and help New York achieve its climate requirement of reducing greenhouse gases 85 percent by 2050, while also reducing air pollution, particularly in disadvantaged communities.”
The new guidelines follow the same exact timeline as California. Zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) must account for at least 35% of all car sales from a given manufacturer in 2026, with the percentage increasingly slightly each year afterwards. ZEVs must be at least 68% of sales by 2030, and finally 100% by 2035. New York attempted similar legislation in the late 1990s and early 2000s, starting with 2% of sales in 2002. The plan was delayed and later thrown out, due to a combination of political lobbying from auto makers and limited battery technology.
New York’s announcement didn’t explicitly mention if plug-in hybrid vehicles, which have combustion engines in addition to rechargeable batteries, are included in the ban. Hybrids are usually lumped in with ZEVs, despite the fact that they can emit greenhouse gasses, but we’ve reached out to the state of New York to confirm. We will update this article when (or if) we get a response.
The state is also kicking off new rebate programs for zero-emission vehicles and grants for charging infrastructure, under the “EV Make Ready” initiative. Electric cars aren’t practical without the required charging infrastructure, so it’s great to see governments focus on that, too.
Source: New York
