More EVs needed in NJ.
California made an incredibly bold step in the face of detrimental forest fires to march toward the ban of gasoline-powered new car sales by 2035, and New Jersey could be on deck. The state’s Department of Environment Protection released its Global Warming Response Act Report this week, and according to the department’s recommendations, gasoline-powered cars have to go.
The act aims to reduce New Jersey’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 2006 levels, and to achieve such a goal, some pretty big changes need to occur. Looking at the data, the department showed passenger vehicles account for 42% of greenhouse gas pollution and 70% of the entire transportation sector’s emissions within its borders. Naturally, it’s a hot-ticket item to meet climate goals. Should the state government take the recommendation, the research concluded 88% of new cars need to be electric or powered by a hydrogen fuel cell by 2030. And in just five more years, 100% of all new cars need to produce zero emissions. Note, this includes trucks and SUVs, too — not just passenger cars like sedans or hatchbacks.
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The office of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy did not immediately return Roadshow’s request for comment on the report’s recommendation.
Any ban of new cars with an internal combustion engine is a very tall order. EVs still do not sit at a price parity with gasoline-powered cars, which oftentimes makes them less affordable for buyers. Tax credits and incentives help, but there’s hardly an appetite to extend the generosity from coast to coast in the US. Legislation to extend federal tax credits for electric cars has repeatedly failed at the national level. All of this sits in the shadows as the report said New Jersey needs to dramatically increase its EV adoption rate from about 8,000 electric annually today to a whopping 110,000 EVs annually in the future. That’s going to require some assistance, which the department recognized as well.
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