Phasing out ICE cars in California by 2035 will no doubt ignite the agenda

BY JOHN HIGHAM: LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ELECTRIC AUTO ASSOCIATION, ELECTRIC AUTO ASSOCIATION BOARD MEMBER 

The Electric Auto Association’s (EAA) mission statement is to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). Coltura, an EAA partner on many policy agenda items, is an organization that has taken that a step further. It promotes legislation to create the deadlines required to focus the will of the people into action. Arguably, no one organization has done more to move the needle on promoting policy to accelerate EV adoption. This month we’ll dive into Coltura’s story.

In 2017, Coltura’s Co-Executive Director Janelle London published her first opinion piece calling for California to phase out sales of new gasoline powered vehicles. Just one year later, Coltura helped form and lead a coalition of organizations supporting Assemblyman Phil Ting’s AB 1745 calling for a 2040 gas car phase out. It was a worthy first effort for the fledgling organization, but in 2018 petroleum lobbies proved too powerful. AB1745, despite strong backing from many like-minded organizations, died in committee.

Then 2020 ushered in a pandemic and economic downturn. Despite (or perhaps because of) widespread human suffering, the events of this year have been a catalyst for change. Forward thinking people are seizing the opportunity to affect positive change for the environment.

Enter a powerful executive order

In the absence of the legislative framework that would have been created by AB1745, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order directing California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop regulations requiring sales of all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035. The executive order's raison d'être is to signal to automakers, oil companies, gas stations, and drivers, that the gasoline era is ending and EVs are here to stay.

Beyond the corporations that build and fuel the vehicles we drive, Newsom’s order helps utilities, landlords, and the private sector plan the required investments in EV charging infrastructure required to support the gas-free future.

A ripple effect

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the executive order informs and guides other governments and government agencies. In the few weeks since Newsom’s action, New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection called for a ban on gas car sales by 2035, and New York State Senator Peter Harckham introduced legislation requiring all new vehicles sold in New York to be zero emissions by 2035. A bill has been proposed simultaneously in the US House of Representatives and US Senate to ban the sale of gas-powered cars by the same year. 

In the state of Washington, a poll commissioned by Coltura and executed by Yale University found that 59% of  voters support a policy requiring new cars  to be electric starting in 2030. A decade ago, such policy agendas were unthinkable. Coltura has every intention to keep the momentum building.

While Newsom’s executive order is a good first step and there is much to celebrate, it does not carry the same level of precedence as a bill passed by a legislative body. Clearly, there is still much work to be done, and Coltura is not standing still. Along with Joint Venture Silicon Valley, the organization has launched a new initiative, Beyond Gasoline, to model how a rapid transition can occur. It focuses on the preparations needed for municipalities to move into an EV future with charging infrastructure ordinances, electrified public fleets, and measures such as requiring vendors to use electric delivery vehicles. It also highlights employers who are electrifying their corporate fleets and providing workplace charging and electrified corporate shuttles. 

Summing up, it could be said that Coltura’s vision is to put that deadline out there and then follow through with the framework to make it happen.