New York's Hochul furthers plan to require zero-emission cars by 2035

New York is advancing regulations that would ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles starting 2035, The Hill reports Thursday, per New York Gov. Kathy Hocul (D).

"We're really putting our foot down on the accelerator and revving up our efforts to make sure we have this transition," Hochul said at a press conference, during which she directed the State Department of Environmental Conservation to take the necessary regulatory action: "Not someday in the future, but on a specific date, a specific year — by the year 2035."

To reach the zero-emission requirement, 35 percent of new cars must be zero-emission by 2026 and 68 percent by 2030, The Hill writes, per Hochul. Futher, all new school buses will need to follow suit by 2027, "with the entire fleet meeting these standards by 2035."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The announcement follows a similar initiative out of California, where lawmakers in August voted to ban the sale of gas-powered cars starting in 2035. Hochul originally signed legislation approving the New York initiative last year, but, due to federal requirements, had to wait until California finalized its regulation to begin implementing it.

The governor also announced "a $10 million investment in the state's Drive Clean Rebate program," and shared that the New York Power Authority had completed the installation of its 100th high-speed electric vehicle charger, where any battery-powered electric vehicle can charge in as little as 20 minutes, The Hill summarizes.

The state will receive $175 million of the bipartisan infrastructure law to help with the EV charging network, per The Hill and Hochul's office.