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Live debate for the event "Should Gas-Powered Cars Be Banned by 2035?" on superdebate.org.
Mining the lithium, cobalt, and manganese required for EV batteries produces significant environmental harm in Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Indonesia — water table destruction, worker exploitation, community displacement. Replacing tailpipe emissions with mining emissions in other countries does not solve the global problem; it relocates it.
Norway reached over 90% EV market share in 2023 through 30 years of consistent policy commitment. The US does not have 30 years. A hard 2035 deadline creates the long-term certainty automakers need to commit capital fully; without it, they maintain combustion production lines as a hedge that delays the investment needed to close cost gaps for everyone.
Transportation accounts for roughly 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and new vehicles sold today will still be on the road in 2045. A 2035 ban on new gas vehicle sales does not remove any existing car; it shapes the fleet that will dominate emissions in the 2040s and 2050s — exactly the decade when the remaining carbon budget closes.
The average EV price in 2024 remains above $50,000, and the federal tax credit reaches fewer than half of buyers due to income caps and vehicle price limits. Rural Americans drive longer distances, cannot charge at home in rented apartments, and live far from public charging networks. A mandate that works for urban professionals is effectively a prohibition on affordable transportation for everyone else.
Battery costs have fallen from $1,100 per kilowatt-hour in 2010 to under $100 in 2024, a 90% reduction in 14 years. At current trajectories, EVs will be cheaper to purchase and operate than gas vehicles by 2030 without any mandate. The ban does not force consumers to buy more expensive cars; it aligns the regulatory endpoint with a market transition already underway.
China controls 75% of global battery manufacturing capacity and dominates critical mineral processing for EV batteries. An accelerated US EV mandate dependent on Chinese supply chains transfers American automotive leadership to a strategic competitor at the worst possible geopolitical moment. Genuine energy independence requires domestic capacity that does not yet exist at the required scale.
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