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Cars drive over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco: By 2035, combustion engines will no longer be allowed to be sold in California
Photo: JUSTIN SULLIVAN / AFP
In the US state of California, new cars with gasoline or diesel engines will no longer be allowed to be sold from 2035.
This applies to cars and trucks, said Governor Gavin Newsom.
New cars are only allowed to go on sale if they do not emit any exhaust gases.
Used gasoline or diesel vehicles are likely to continue to drive and change hands.
California is the largest auto market in the US with eleven percent of all vehicles sold nationwide.
"This is the most powerful step our state can take in the fight against climate change," Newsom said.
"For too many decades, we've allowed cars to pollute the air our children and family members breathe."
Cars shouldn't help children develop asthma, nor should they melt glaciers or contribute to sea level rise, Newsom said.
On Twitter, the governor also mentioned the devastating forest fires on the US west coast.
Series of forest fires in California
The announcement follows a number of forest fires on the west coast.
The California fire has never destroyed more forest than this year since records began.
Extreme drought and strong winds encourage the fire to spread.
Researchers see the development as a consequence of climate change.
Boise State University researchers wrote in Science Advances that global warming increases the risk of such extreme events.
In their study, they warned of a mega-drought that would last for decades in the USA.
As climate change progresses, extreme events like heat waves and drought are more common, the researchers wrote.
Her study focuses on the drought and heat coexistence over the past 122 years.
"Episodes of extreme drought and heat are the recipe for large forest fires," said Mojtaba Sadegh, one of the study's authors.
"These extremes are intensifying and expanding to unprecedented spatial proportions, making the current forest fires possible along the entire US west coast."
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hba / Reuters / dpa