TRENTON – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed an executive order that will ban the sale of gasoline-powered cars and vehicles. The action was taken without a vote in the state senate or legislature and taken unilaterally by the governor on Wednesday.
The announced ban will affect all cars and light-duty trucks. It will not affect heavy diesel-based commercial vehicles or his new fleet of gas-guzzling large SUVs.
Murphy signed Executive Order 315, which creates an accelerated target of 100% clean energy by 2035, defined as “100% of the electricity sold in the State to come from clean sources of electricity by January 1, 2035, through clean energy market mechanisms, paired with support for a Clean Energy Standard in New Jersey.”
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That means that in 2035, it will be illegal to sell gas-powered vehicles in New Jersey. Murphy cites global warming as the motivating factor behind his latest executive order, saying traditional methods of energy production that rely on the burning of fossil fuels release harmful emissions of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global climate change.
“These bold targets and carefully crafted initiatives signal our unequivocal commitment to swift and concrete climate action today,” said Governor Murphy. “We’ve turned our vision for a greener tomorrow into a responsible and actionable roadmap to guide us, and it’s through that pragmatic, evidence-based approach that we will ultimately arrive at our destination. Combined with our federal partnerships reinforced through the Inflation Reduction Act, these comprehensive initiatives will better protect and prepare every New Jersey community, including those on the front lines of climate change who have previously been left out and left behind.”
Murphy’s executive order also hints that he is not done banning fossil fuel power systems and appliances across businesses and homes in New Jersey. His new 2035 clean energy acceleration goal is expected to target fossil fuel-based home heating systems and gas-powered appliances such as stoves, water heaters, grills, swimming pools and other gas-powered devices in a home.
Murphy has not specifically mentioned natural gas-powered driveway heating systems, which it is rumored that his Middletown home uses in order to melt snow. That allegation has not yet been confirmed.
Murphy stated that by 2035, New Jersey residents would be switching to 100% clean energy.
“It is the policy of the State to advance clean energy market mechanisms and other programs in order to provide for 100 percent of the electricity sold in the State to be derived from clean sources of electricity by January 1, 2035,” Murphy said.