Ending sales of new gas-powered cars is critical to meet the Paris Climate Accord and President Biden’s goal of cutting carbon emissions 50% by 2030. Ten countries have announced plans to phase out gasoline vehicles by 2030 or sooner.

On April 14, 2021, the Washington State legislature became the first in the nation to pass a law setting a goal for all new vehicles to be electric starting with model year 2030. The legislature's action made world headlines, and helped advance the timeline under consideration in the U.S. for phasing out gas cars.

On May 13, 2021, in a surprise move Governor Inslee vetoed the legislature's 2030 new vehicle electrification target. He expressed support for target but vetoed the bill because it was tied to implementation of a road usage charge to pay for infrastructure. He explained, “Setting and achieving a goal of 100 percent electric vehicles is too important to tie to the implementation of a separate policy like a road usage charge.” Governor Inslee had previously advocated for a nationwide 2030 gas car phaseout as part of his presidential campaign.

There is a clear path Gov Inslee can take to support the 2030 clean cars target and honor the desire of the legislature: he can issue an executive order setting forth the target. Let’s petition him to do this now.