N.Y. To Draft Regs Banning Gas Vehicles by 2035

Following California’s push for zero emissions, New York’s governor outlined regulatory plans for the state to follow suit. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Sept. 29 that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will begin drafting regulations that ban the sale of all gas-powered passenger vehicles in the state by 2035. The move follows passage of a law requiring the change — Assembly Bill A4302 — back in September.  

“This is a crucial regulatory step to achieving significant greenhouse gas emission reductions from the transportation sector,” Hochul stated in a release announcing the move. “We’re driving New York’s transition to clean transportation forward, and today’s announcement will benefit our climate and the health of our communities for generations to come.” 

The release specifically cited the California Air Resource Board’s (CARB) actions to electrify passenger vehicles as the impetus. Under CARB’s proposed Advanced Clean Cars II, all passenger vehicles sold in the state must produce zero emissions by 2035. 

Much like California’s mandate, New York’s will be a gradual transition, with the state requiring 35 percent of light-duty vehicle sales to be zero emissions by 2026, the release states. That number will climb to 68 percent by 2030 before hitting the final goal in 2035. During that transition period, the state will also impose stricter emission standards on sales of new passenger vehicles with internal combustion engines. 

New York adopted separate — but similar — standards for heavy-duty vehicles in late 2021. The Advanced Clean Trucks rule requires all trucks sold in the state to be zero emissions by 2045.