The state of California asked the Biden administration Monday to approve its plans for a waiver to require that all vehicles sold in the state be either fully electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2035, according to the letter sent to the administration.
News of the letter comes nearly nine months after the California Air Resources Board approved the plan to phase out gasoline-powered vehicles.
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The waiver request seeks approval from the EPA for implementation of the new state rules, which, as outlined by CARB, would begin phasing out sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles in California in 2026.
The letter, addressed to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, requests California be granted a new waiver under Clean Air Act Section 209(b) for its “Advanced Clean Cars II” regulations.
These regulations “constitute the latest development in CARB’s decades-long history of promulgating increasingly stringent emission standards to protect the public health and the environment of all Californians,” CARB Executive Officer Steven Cliff and other senior officials wrote, noting that motor vehicles and other mobile sources are the greatest source of emissions in the state.
In total, the waiver is expected to cost $210.35 billion, but have total benefits of $301.41 billion
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These regulations “constitute the latest development in CARB’s decades-long history of promulgating increasingly stringent emission standards to protect the public health and the environment of all Californians,” officials said, and “ensure that emissions continue to decrease from conventional vehicles powered by internal combustion engines across a wider range of real-world operating conditions.”
