California: Ban on internal combustion gardening equipment

Lawn mowers, leaf blowers and other small machines - no longer exclusively cars will be subject to the coming ban on internal combustion engines in many countries around the world. The US state of California is going one step further and thinking even more comprehensively about the areas in which the internal combustion engine still plays a central role. At the end of 2021, the Californian regulators had decided to phase out gas-powered garden equipment from 2024. Now the time is approaching for Californians to become more sustainable in gardening as well.  

Specifically, the state's decision means a gradual ban on the sale of all high-emission landscaping equipment - from a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers from 2024 to a ban on portable generators from 2028 - to get them off the market and out of California's fields, thus reducing harmful pollutants. But it could take some time before the approved emission-free devices replace the older ones. This is because the new air pollution regulations on new purchases and, consequently, the use of already existing garden machinery will still be allowed.  

Similarly, the coming ban will apply to commercial landscapers and homeowners. As Bill Magavern of Coalition for Clean Air explained back in 2021, the air pollution caused by such equipment is "a regional problem" and not an isolated event. Taken together, these small gas-powered off-road engines cause as much smog as light passenger cars. Consequently, the authorities should respond if they want to enable an all-encompassing transition to a carbon-free economy.  

This is also the opinion of many stakeholders in the sustainability field who have supported the initiative from the beginning, he said. That the transition to zero-emission gardening tools will have a positive impact on the environment and on the quality of life of citizens is their wish and expectation. Not only gardeners who use them on a daily basis, but all residents will benefit - by lowering the overall emission levels in the air.  

Of course, California's decision also meets with resistance. Gardening and landscaping companies in particular are resisting the new restrictions. On the one hand, they argue, low-emission landscaping machines are still prohibitively expensive and less efficient than fossil-fuelled ones. On the other hand, such a switch is possible, but only in a few years - when the industry will be able to convince customers in terms of price and technology.  

Whether Californians will simply keep their older gas-powered garden tools as long as possible or whether more and more CO2-neutral equipment will find its place in the tool shed is too early to say. However, the government's goal of switching to 100% clean energy by 2045 makes the strategy viable for the future. Will the ban on internal combustion engines and thus the environmental zones be extended to other areas in Europe in the future - apart from road traffic, for example?