Of all the states that constitute the USA, California has always asserted itself as being one of (if not the most) progressive of the lot. In many ways, it can be considered an outlier that’s somewhat distanced from the rest of the country.
In one way that they’ve exercised this worldview over residents are the anti-pollution and air quality measures the state has put in place, including specific regulation that introduces certain more stringent standards for carbon dioxide and certain airborne particulate emitters, even some that relate to noise pollution.
Autonews reports via Bloomberg that California may now be considering following the lead of China and European cities like Paris and London that have made known that a blanket ban on any and all cars powered by internal combustion engines will take effect in the future.
Previously, California had announced its goal to reduce the state’s combined carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent by 2050 as compared to the annual carbon footprint as measured in 1990. Cars that combust fossil fuel to operate make up a huge chunk of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere there - as it does everywhere cars are used - and is a hurdle that needs to be overcome in order to meet their self-given goal.
Mary Nichols, Chairman of the California Air Resources Board, said in an interview that Governor Jerry Brown has been enquiring as to why other cities are moving in this direction but his state has not made a similar move.
"To reach the ambitious levels of reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, we have to pretty much replace all combustion with some form of renewable energy by 2040 or 2050," Nichols said. "We're looking at that as a method of moving this discussion forward.”
In order to enact such a ban, California must also find a way to override federal policy should the need arise. After all, the climate change debate is one of the more volatile issues in American politics despite the country’s southern states and Caribbean territories devastated by three successive major hurricanes originating from the Atlantic ocean.
California, as a state, must conform to federal policy. However, it has absolute jurisdiction over matters such as air pollution that were put in place by the 1970 Clean Air Act and specific waivers granted by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). The report cites vehicle registration rules would allow state law to essentially control which vehicles are granted access to their highways. Modifying it to only allow electric/electrified vehicles past a certain deadline would a forceful early blow toward banning the use internal combustion engines throughout the state.
Nichols continued, saying: "There are people who believe, including who work for me, that you could stop all sales of new internal-combustion cars by 2030. Some people say 2035, some people say 2040. It’s awfully hard to predict any of that with precision, but it doesn't appear to be out of the question.”
