New jersey gas car ban signed by governor phil murphy

TRENTON, NJ – A gas car ban is coming to New Jersey, similar to the one recently implemented in California. That’s not all for New Jersey. A promise to switch the state to clean energy by 2035 could also change how New Jerseyans heat their homes, cook food, and warm their swimming pools.

If Governor Phil Murphy had his way all of New Jersey’s energy needs would be converted to electric and powered by clean energy such as solar and wind. Taxes, cost and efficiency are of no concern to the governor.

Governor Murphy has signed an executive order to ban the sale of gasoline-powered cars and vehicles. The action was taken unilaterally by the governor on Wednesday without a vote in the state senate or legislature.

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.”

That means that in 2035, selling gas-powered vehicles in New Jersey will be illegal. Murphy cites global warming as the motivating factor behind his latest executive order, saying traditional methods of energy production that rely on burning 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.”

Fortunately for Murphy his ban is some ten-plus years away, allowing him to recently upgrade his fleet of gas-guzzling Chevrolet Suburbans using COVID-19 earmarked funds.

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 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.

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