By the year 2035, every new car, SUV, or pickup registered in the D.C. region — including the District, Maryland and Virginia — will have to be a clean, zero-emission vehicle.

The District finalized regulations adopting this policy late last month, following its two neighboring states. Now, a total of 13 states, plus D.C., have signed on to these tougher new vehicle emissions standards, first adopted by California in Nov. 2022.

Under the regulations, several different types of vehicles will count as zero emission. This includes fully electric cars, known as battery electric vehicles (BEVs), as well as plug in hybrids. Gas-powered cars will still be on the road well past 2035 — a majority of car buyers purchase used cars, which are not affected by the emissions standards.

The regulations will help slash greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, and air pollution that lead to health problems like asthma.

“Air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions don’t know where state borders start or end,  so we really do need a regional approach,” says Mike Litt, with the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club. “Regionally, we’re going to see our air quality improve across the DMV, and it also puts us in a good position to meet our climate goals here in the District.”

According to a Sierra Club analysis, by 2035, the clean cars regulations in D.C. will cut emissions of nitrogen oxides by 73%, fine particulate matter by 56%, and sulfur dioxide by 60%, compared to 2021.

Electric vehicles have been getting better and cheaper in recent years, and according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, they will be less expensive than gasoline-powered cars by the time the 2035 standards go into effect. When you account for fuel and maintenance savings, EV buyers can expect to save $10,000 over the lifetime of the vehicle, according to the EPA.

The regulations will begin to phase in zero-emission vehicle requirements starting with the model year 2027.

The regulations, known as Advanced Clean Cars II, were put forward by California — the only state allowed to write its own emissions standards, as long as they are as strict or stricter than the federal standards. That’s because California started regulating emissions in the 1960s, before the creation of the U.S. EPA and the adoption of federal standards, so the state’s rules were grandfathered in. Other states can opt to follow the federal rules, or join California.

Virginia passed a law in 2021, requiring the adoption of California emissions standards. This was challenged by Republican lawmakers, but an effort to repeal the clean cars law failed in early 2023.

In Maryland, the new emissions standards were adopted in September.

The new emissions standards will phase in over the course of 8 years, starting in 2027 with a requirement that 43% of new cars are zero-emission. It is the auto manufacturers’ responsibility, non the consumers’, to ensure the target is met.

There is a very long way to go to meet that first target in the next three years. As of 2022, EVs made up just 1.8% of vehicles registered in D.C. — a total of just 5,900 vehicles. Maryland and Virginia trailed that with .9% and .7% respectively. California leads the nation in EV adoption, with 2.5% of car registrations.

While the new regulations signify a big and rapid change, it’s a transformation that’s already underway. In fact, many automakers have already committed to all-electric fleets by 2035 or even earlier.

EVs are still more expensive than their gas-powered counterparts, though revamped federal subsidies created by the Inflation Reduction Act can help. Currently, though, there are only a handful of vehicles that qualify for the federal tax credit, due to requirements the cars be made in the U.S. Another hurdle to adoption is the current lack of charging infrastructure — this can be especially problematic in an urban area like D.C., where many residents don’t have their own parking spaces or garages with easy access to electricity.

And while EVs are much better for the climate and the air than gasoline-powered vehicles, “zero-emission” is not exactly accurate. While the vehicles do have zero tailpipe emissions, their production requires the burning of fossil fuels, resulting in “upstream” emissions. In fact, building an EV results in more emissions than producing a gas-powered car because of the large battery. And, depending on how electricity is generated where the vehicle is charged, there are also emissions to be counted from power plants.

Still, a typical mid-sized EV can have about four times less total lifetime emissions compared to the average gasoline-powered vehicle, according to the EPA.