California takes action to reach emissions targets 

Under the latest plans, all new cars sold in California by 2035 will need to be zero emissions. These proposals will be debated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) later this week. 

California’s Climate Change Scoping Plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% below 1990’s levels by 2020, by 40% by 2030, and by 80% by 2050. 

One way to meet this objective is to focus on reducing vehicle emissions, and the state has recently announced its plans to ban the sale of new fossil fuel cars by 2035.

As California is the biggest economy in the United States with over 40 million consumers, this move could mean other states have to follow its example. 

Rules that are imposed in California often have a large impact on production and manufacturers’ plans across the country, meaning the new rules could affect national vehicle standards. 

In an interview with CNN, CARB board member Daniel Sperling said, “This is the most important thing that CARB has done in the last 30 years. It’s important not just for California, but it’s important for the country and the world.”

Global efforts to reduce emissions 

In recent years, countries around the world have focused their efforts on reducing emissions, particularly in the highly polluting car industry. 

This comes as global warming continues to raise average temperatures, which has affected weather patterns and made natural hazards like storms and wildfires more severe. 

The Paris Agreement, which was introduced in 2015, has already been ratified by 190 countries, which all have their own targets and reduction plans. The overall aim is to keep global temperature rises to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. 

To reach these objectives, the UK, Singapore, and Israel have pledged to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2030, and the European Union wants to meet this goal by 2035. Norway has announced that it plans to have all new cars produce zero tailpipe emissions by 2025.