news
From NRDC
Overview:
- The EPA released a new rule to decrease climate emissions from heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs), which contribute significantly to total transportation sector pollution.
- The new rule does not mandate zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) but aims to reduce carbon emissions through a technology-neutral approach.
- Despite the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants projected by the EPA’s rule, more action is needed to achieve a zero-emission freight system.
- An all-of-government approach is essential to address the environmental justice issues and public health implications of HDV emissions.
Quotes:
- Despite HDVs making up just four percent of vehicles on the road, they generate more than 25 percent of the total climate pollution from the transportation sector.
- EPA analysis suggests that the rule will prevent approximately 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from 2027 through 2055, representing an effort to limit climate change impacts such as sea level rise, heat waves, drought, wildfires, and more. The rule is also expected to reduce pollutants that harm our air quality and health, including NOx and VOCs.
- MFN’s recommended approach (where 100% of all new vehicle sales are zero-emissions by 2035) would have achieved a 50% reduction in climate pollution from the on-road fleet by 2040 compared to 2026, yielding greater climate and air quality benefits compared to EPA’s finalized rule.
- MFN, or Moving Forward Network
Related:
EPA’s Truck Rule Does Not Go Far Enough To Protect Communities From Pollution
Unfortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new Phase 3 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Rule on heavy-duty trucks fails to set a clear pathway to 100% zero-emissions for heavy-duty trucks and ensure emissions reduction for frontline and fenceline communities which are majority Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), Asian and from working class and low-income communities.
