Washington State Democrats are moving forward with a plan to ban most non-electric cars in the state by 2030. Last week, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill that would require just about all vehicles that are sold, purchased, or registered in the state to be electric.
“On or before December 31, 2023, the interagency electric vehicle coordinating council … shall complete a scoping plan for achieving the 2030 target,” reads the new law. The bill was passed as part of a $16.9 billion “Move Ahead Washington” package signed by Inslee on Friday. Inslee and other Washington Democrats say the bill is aimed at lowering the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and combatting climate change.
“Transportation is our state’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. There is no way to talk about climate change without talking about transportation,” Inslee said in a statement. “This package will move us away from the transportation system our grandparents imagined and towards the transportation system our grandchildren dream of.”
The new legislation includes funding for several projects that would overhaul the state’s infrastructure in order to accommodate electric vehicles. The transportation bill will also fund four new hybrid-electric ferries, 25 transit electrification projects, and free fares for riders 18 and younger on public transportation systems, Inslee said.
Washington will join the Canadian province of Quebec, as well as several European countries, in banning the sale of non-electric cars within the next 20 years. The U.S. states of New York and California have also announced bans on non-electric vehicles and want to phase them out by 2035.