Maryland officials want to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. If the regulations are approved it would substantially help reduce gas emissions in the state, but some officials fear they will be difficult logistically.
“We need to make sure that this clean car revolution leaves no one behind,” said Gov. Wes Moore. “Electric cars are the future and I want to make sure anyone and everyone can and will be part of that future.”
Maryland is one of 17 states that agreed to follow emission standards first established in California for zero-emission and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales.
According to Dr. Osama A. Mohammed, director of the Energy Systems Research Laboratory at Floridas International University, such regulations require more charging stations and a large investment in renewable energy sources.
“If you don’t have a long-term plan or decision,” he said. “That is going to create a strain on the distribution system.”
While Florida is not one of the states currently following what California, Maryland and others want to do, Mohammed said state utility companies must come up with programs to help people move to electrification and renewable energy business portfolio.
Opponents of Moore’s plan in Maryland have called it “a radical environmental policy.” If the regulation is approved, it would start phasing out gas-powered car sales in September.
