Washington Governor Jay Inslee said his state will follow California and ban sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.
According to a report, the regulations specific to Washington state are yet to be formulated and the people will have the opportunity to comment.
“This is a critical milestone in our climate fight. Washington set in law a goal for all new car sales to be zero emissions by 2030 and we’re ready to adopt California’s regs by end of this year,” Inslee said on Twitter.
Transportation-related emissions account for more than 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in Washington.
California’s law passed earlier last week requires 100% of new sales of passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs to be powered by electricity or hydrogen by 2035, with one-fifth allowed to be plug-in hybrids. It doesn’t ban the use of gas-powered cars or the sale of used cars.
In 2020, Washington lawmakers passed a law that requires the State Department of Ecology to adopt the California emissions standards once they’re implemented.
Washington lawmakers have also committed to phasing out the sales of new internal combustion-powered cars by 2030.
A state council, which was created by Inslee to plan the future of electronic vehicles began its initial meeting in July during which the members discussed the need for an infrastructure of fast-charging stations on state highways, said Anna Lising, senior climate adviser to Inslee. The effort will be helped by $71 million from the federal government.
The state Legislature also approved a budget of $69 million for the establishment of “community charging” stations for those who do not live in a one-family home.
Lising said that she expects that the new regulations will encourage producers to create more and cheaper electric vehicles.
Massachusetts has also stated that it will be following California’s lead and many states are expected to follow suit. New York and Pennsylvania are among 17 states which have adopted all or a portion of California’s tailpipe emission standards that are stricter than federal rules.
According to data from the Department of Licensing, around 20% of new vehicle registrations in Washington in July were either electric or hybrid.
There are around 4.7 million passenger class vehicles in the state, according to the department.
This story originally appeared on AP News.