New York to Ban New Gas Car Sales in 2035, Joining California

Photo: Genesis

New York joined a slew of states and countries attempting to slash greenhouse emissions with targeted gas car sales ban goals this week, with a new law seeking to help transition consumers to emission-free vehicles.

On Wednesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law setting a target for the state to make all passenger cars and light-duty trucks zero-emission models by 2035, according to Reuters.

The state now joins California, Washington and a number of other states and countries around the world in setting goals to eliminate gas cars in favor of electric vehicles (EVs), which don’t produce any emissions.

The law sets ongoing regulations that require higher numbers of zero-emission vehicles over the years, with the ultimate goal of achieving a New York electric fleet representing “100 percent of in-state sales by 2035.”

In order to do so, New York City says it needs 400,000 of the city’s 2 million drivers to move to EVs by 2030, and that it will also install a charging network of 10,000 curbside charge points by 2030.

The news also comes just weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden signed an ambitious executive order to electrify 50 percent of new cars sold by 2030, and just days following President Biden’s announcement of plans to target 45 percent of U.S. energy to be solar by 2050.