California's pollution regulation board voted Thursday to approve a ban on selling all gas-powered cars in the state by 2035, Fox's KTXL 40 reported.
The local news outlet noted that the California Air Resources Board's plan, although one of the nation's most aggressive, "does not eliminate passenger vehicles that run on fossil fuels."
Regulators outlined the sweeping plan in a morning news conference on Wednesday. The new guidelines require 35% of all new cars sold in the state to be electric by 2026, 68% by 2030, and 100% by 2035.
Although officially active only in California, more than a dozen other states have followed California's lead in the past on auto emissions standards, according to The New York Times.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom applauded the proposal in an interview on Wednesday, calling it "one of the most significant steps to the elimination of the tailpipe as we know it," per NPR.
"The climate crisis is solvable if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to stem the tide of carbon pollution," Newsom stated. He also referred to the plan as a necessary "action we must take if we're serious about leaving this planet better off for future generations."
Alliance for Automotive Innovation President John Bozzella struck a different tone in an email to the Times, affirming that automakers want to see more electric vehicles but characterizing the new regulations as excessive.
"Whether or not these requirements are realistic or achievable is directly linked to external factors like inflation, charging and fuel infrastructure, supply chains, labor, critical mineral availability and pricing, and the ongoing semiconductor shortage," Bozzella wrote.
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