EPA Allows California to Ban New Gas-Powered Cars by 2035

The move allows California and other states to halt sales of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035, but President-elect Trump is expected to reverse the authority.

Electric vehicles are charging at a charging station in Monterey Park, Calif., on April 12, 2023. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted two requests from California on Dec. 18 to ban the sales of new gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035 in a move to enforce stricter vehicle emission standards.

The EPA’s legal waivers allow California and more than a dozen other states that follow its vehicle emission standards to set stricter rules than those adopted earlier this year by the federal government, which did not require the sale of electric vehicles (EV).