New Jersey looks at banning ICE sales by 2035
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy outlined broad climate goals, including the creation of a rule adopted by a handful of other states to require all new cars and light-duty trucks sold to be zero-emission by 2035.
The proposed rule would go toward the governor’s accelerated plan to achieve using 100% clean energy in the state by that same year. Murphy’s plan is built on six “pillars”, which aim to clean up the state’s transportation network in the next decade by moving to “clean energy” by 2035, although the governor did not indicate what was meant by “clean”. He does indicate, however, that part of his plan would include 11,000 MW by 2040 using offshore wind.
The second point on the list is to help 400,000 homes and 20,000 businesses install zero-carbon-emission space heating and cooling systems, such as heat pumps. Next is a nod to natural gas to create a partnership with “utilities, key stakeholders including organized labor, and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to plan for the Future of the Natural Gas Utility in New Jersey”.
A $70 million allocation from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is also to be set aside toward lowering costs to buy electric vehicles. Finally, the last two measures aim to require all new cases and light-duty trucks newly purchased from 2035 to be emissions-free, similarly to the Californian plan. Finally, the last measure is to propose a rule to provide enhanced flood protection for homes and businesses in riverine and coastal areas, which is expected to worsen over the next 30 years.
The issue of phasing out combustion vehicles and cleaning up the energy grid remains contentious in the USA, where conservatives have been using misinformation regarding the technology to demonize progress and disparage environmental efforts, as Murphy indicated: “No one is coming for anyone’s gas stove. No one is walking into anyone’s kitchen. No one is going to be forced to do anything, in any way.”
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