So far, come January, Joe Biden will be sworn in as president of the US. One of the points he has emphasized was instituting was a ‘green new deal’, of which there were many environmental-friendly provisions that would be deadly to most of normal American life. While one cannot be sure of what Biden actually will try to do, we can say that this is a trend to watch for, with potentially trying to shove such things down the proverbial throats of the public. Noting this, it is interesting to see that Canada’s Environmental Minister has just proposed the idea of, in two decades, instituting a North American ban on gasoline powered vehicles.
Canada wants deeper environmental ties with the United States and one result could be a North American ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks, a senior cabinet member said on Thursday.
Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Ottawa and the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden both agreed zero emissions vehicles needed to be deployed faster.
Canada will discuss with the United States how to achieve this and also improve the overall performance of the transport sector, which accounts for 26% of Canadian emissions, he said in a phone interview.
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In 2017, Canada said all vehicles sold starting in 2040 should produce no emissions. California and Quebec say they will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks starting in 2035.
Earlier this year Biden announced a climate plan that would provide incentives for manufacturers to produce zero-emission electric vehicles.
California, British Columbia and Quebec already require a certain proportion of vehicles for sale have to be emissions-free, Wilkinson said, and Ottawa wants to talk to Washington “about whether there is a North American pathway to doing something like that.” (source)
It will be interesting to see what Biden does, but as a trend, it is likely that one can expect further regulations from the government and more ‘red tape’ even in dealing with small matters, up to the point of making what was once normal something very hard to do.