The State of Maryland followed in the footsteps of California on March 13 by banning all new gas vehicle sales by the model year 2035.
Maryland’s Air Quality Control Advisory Council unanimously voted to approve a regulation to implement California’s vehicle emissions standards, which have specific goals for a certain percentage of new vehicle sales be emission-free.
Maryland laws already exist that require the state to match California’s vehicle emissions programs. Maryland aligned with the California Air Resource Board (CARB) vehicle standards in 2011, one of 17 states in the U.S. to do so.
“This is a policy that was created in California,” House Minority Leader Jason Buckel said in a statement to the Baltimore Sun. “It is based on California’s economy, California’s transportation needs and California’s electrical grid.”
The proposal will require 43% of Maryland’s new car sales to be zero-emission by 2027. By model year 2035, all new passenger vehicles sold in Maryland will need to be zero-emission. The requirements allow plug-in hybrid vehicles to account for 20% of the requirements.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore criticized the previous administration, run by Larry Hogan, for dragging its feet to push the state’s fleet of passenger vehicles to be more sustainable.
“The last administration pumped the brakes on this regulation, but today I am proud to say that we’re getting rolling again,” Moore said.
Moore drove off from a March 13 press conference in a Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Detroit-based automaker’s initial EV rollout several years ago.
“Today, we’re talking about a major transformation that is going to define this administration---and that’s how we turn Maryland from a state powered by oil and gas to a state powered by clean energy,” Moore said in a press release. “I am confident that the State of Maryland can and will lead the clean energy revolution.”
383,000 fewer new gas-powered vehicles would be sold under the new rule by 2030. This figure rises to 1.68 million vehicles by 2035.
The requirements are expected to be finalized by September, and the public will be given an opportunity to comment and voice concerns. The rule will receive an advisory review from a legislative committee.
In August, California became the first U.S. state to ban the sale of new gasoline cars by 2035. Every new car sold in the state after that year is required to be 100% free of fossil fuel emissions.
“The climate crisis is solvable if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to stem the tide of carbon pollution,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said when the goal was announced.
California plans to have 68% of its new car sales be zero-emissions by 2030; 35% of new car sales will be free of fossil fuels by 2026.
Abby Andrews