Rubio decries California's ban on fossil-fueled car sales

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio excoriated California's recent move to ban the sale of fossil-fueled cars by 2035.

The state's Air Resources Board approved in late August rules that would require the state to transition to selling only electric vehicles by the deadline and set interim targets for EV sales quotas ahead of the final ban. At present, just 1% of cars on the state's roads are emissions-free vehicles. The ban does not apply to any pre-existing fossil-fueled vehicles.

"If they're going to go to all battery-powered cars, then I guess they're going to be charging their cars with coal and natural gas, because that's how you produce electricity because they don't like nuclear plants," Rubio said, per the Epoch Times. "And I don't think you can generate enough power for a state like California based on solar and wind. So in the end, it's self-defeating."

He further derided Sacramento for pushing emissions-free driving "before the science gets there" and added, "I don't think you're going to get there through government mandates."

Other Democratic states, including New Mexico and Pennsylvania, have ruled out taking similar measures. California's regulations, meanwhile, have spelled direct trouble for at least one Republican-led state. When Democrats controlled the governorship and legislature, they bound Virginia to the decisions of California's Air Resources Board. Virginia Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares has confirmed that the regulations will apply to the mid-Atlantic commonwealth barring the repeal of state law.