New Jersey has made the decision to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035, AP News reports.
The announcement was first made last week by state officials. According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, the rule will take effect January 1. New Jersey joins several other states that have also decided to move toward banning gasoline vehicles, including California, Vermont, New York, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Virginia, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Connecticut.
The sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles will start to be limited in 2027 before it is entirely banned by 2035. Used vehicles powered by gasoline may still be sold, and new gasoline vehicles purchased outside the state are able to be brought in and kept in New Jersey, so long as they meet certain emissions standards.
Speculation over New Jersey making the move spread earlier this year, and has been opposed by business groups since. According to Ray Cantor, an official with the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, more than 100 business, labor, and other groups have sent almost 10,000 letters to state legislators urging them to act against the new rule being implemented.
Cantor argued that enacting the change in the timeframe given is not adequate for the cost and work involved with the transition to electric vehicles.
“It does not take the lack of local and highway infrastructure into account. It does not take grid capacity into account. It ignores consumer choice. It doesn’t take New Jersey residents into account, especially low- and moderate-income families,” Cantor stated.
Environmental groups, on the other hand, have celeberated the move, such as New Jersey Sierra Club Director Anjuli Ramos-Busot, who said that a decrease in gasoline vehicles on roadways promotes public health and supports communities that suffer from roadway pollution.
