California Plans To Ban Gasoline Vehicles By 2040

Phil Ting, a California state assembly member, and chair of the state’s budget plan committee, prepares to introduce a bill that, starting in 2040, would only permit the DMV to register cars that don’t emit carbon dioxide, according to Bloomberg’s report. That could suggest electric vehicles, however it could also suggest automobiles working on hydrogen or other alternative fuels.

“Till you set a deadline, nothing gets done,” Ting told Bloomberg. “It’s responsible for us to set a deadline 23 years in advance.”

Ting stated he prepares to introduce the bill next month when the 2018 legislative session starts. If it passes, it would be a substantial advance as the state works to considerably cut emissions by 2050. Presently, the goal is to lower statewide emissions below 80 percent from the level they were in 1990.

While it would definitely be a controversial move, banning fossil fuel automobiles already has support from a number of lawmakers. “I’ve gotten messages from the governor asking, ‘Why haven’t we done something already?'” Mary Nichols, head of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), said earlier in September. “The governor has certainly suggested an interest in why China can do this and not California.”

By 2040, France and Britain intends to prohibit the sale of cars powered by gasoline.