Trucking groups balk at efforts to apply California emissions standards across U.S.
The Clean Freight Coalition — representing some of the largest trucking associations in the U.S. — is blasting efforts by more than 80 Congressional Democrats to expand California emissions standards across the nation.
Such standards, agreed to by truck and engine manufacturers under the Clean Truck Partnership, would upend the supply chain and ignore immediate, scalable solutions that reduce carbon emissions, Clean Freight Coalition executive director Jim Mullen said in a statement.
“It is disappointing that certain members of Congress are pushing a one-size-fits-all environmental agenda that fails to understand the mass diversification of the commercial vehicle industry. Setting regulatory requirements relying on technologies that are either in early demonstration phases or not fully developed, and yet to be tested and validated in the various unique real-world applications will disrupt the nation’s freight network.”
The statement came after a Sept. 5 Democrat-led congressional letter asking the EPA to finalize the “strongest feasible Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles – Phase 3 rules” before the end of the year.
“We encourage EPA to finalize standards that go beyond the current proposal and fully incorporate the potential for national emissions reductions highlighted by the technologies and strategies agreed to in the Clean Truck Partnership between CARB and the engine and truck manufacturers,” the legislators’ letter said. It also cited commitments by fleets such as Amazon, FedEx and Walmart to further reduce emissions.
“Congress and regulators should pursue policies that will provide immediate emission reductions, allowing zero-emission technologies to mature and the supporting infrastructure to be built out,” Mullen said.
“As examples, repealing the federal excise tax would incentivize truckers to refresh their fleets with modern greener and safer technologies, and policymakers should promote and incentivize readily available low-carbon fuel options, such as biodiesel and renewable diesel.”
Clean Freight Coalition members include the American Trucking Associations; American Truck Dealers; National Association of Truck Stop Operators; National Motor Freight Traffic Association; National Tank Truck Carriers; and Truckload Carriers Association.
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I was a carb certified auto technician from Connecticut. Clean air, water and food should be of paramount importance to all humans. First we must consider that electric trucks are not a feasible solution as where is the electricity generated. The power grid is woefully unprepared to meet the demands of 4.5 million heavy trucks. The answer is hydrogen fuel cell technology. The infrastructure to supply hydrogen is going to be a massive investment. We as a country cannot afford this upgrade due to run away government spending. We need to get our priorities straightened out as a nation first before undertaking this massive shift in our fuel supplies.
I’ve owned a wholesale produce business for 41 years and I’ve tried to stay up with the technology and all my trucks have DEF systems but I’ve have spent so much money on breakdowns from the death systems that it’s it’s practically running me out of business. I’ve spent $460,000 in three years on repairing DEF systems on my trucks know the manufacture won’t stand behind it, and it’s killing small businesses like my own.
I think ESG is a rouse in disguise, designed to lessen any opportunity for middle class Americans to engage in capitalism. The Democrats talk about climate change, and yet turn a blind eye to the child labor issues within the DRC, or the tonnes of carbon admittance produced just to extract raw materials, refine them by China, and composite EV’s. Carbon Capturing is a wonderful idea for carbon neutral hydro carbons, but yet the technology has yet to scale in order to mass produce.
Ultimately, what California is doing has destroyed the American Dream, by creating a binary society to where oligarchs are on top and the masses are trapped within an economic bottom, or strung out within a legal drug zone. The people of this Democratic Republican society are becoming well aware of this liberal bureaucratic overreach, and are now voting with their feet. Personally, ESG is just another marketing strategy… In the end, EV’s and climate changes are just new ways to deter competition and to ensure corporate monopolies return this country to the Gilded Age. The Pinkertons are coming…
I don’t understand America. Your following rules of a state that is broke. California is different from the rest of the states in America. They’re surrounded by mountains and ocean like a bowl. The exhaust emissions from factories, cars, and trucks are trapped a tornado in a jar. The rules California makes for example: trucks 55 mph and trucks us 2 right lanes is because of the 4 to 5 + grades throughout California especially in cities. You don’t have that in the rest of the country. These changes your proposing won’t just affect the transportation industry, but will affect the American families of truckers. If you would like to make changes here are some: remove the 30 minute break, remove sleeper birth it has no purpose, “off duty is off duty”, change 5 mph to 10 mph before it switches to drive, cars and trucks same speed, no trucks in left hand lane unless passing, and trucks can park on get on ramps only not get off ramps. There’s more
The step to go all in on electric truck is not realistic.
Instead, effort and subvention to eliminate older truck and old technology would reduce pollution quickly and permit evolution of the electric truck.
Other then Tesla, with his pilot at PepsiCo,
Regional trucks proposed today have such a poor autonomy, managing the logistic of the recharge is as complicated as managing trucking.
About the costs of infrastructure? Worst, permits and electricity supply. At the end of the journey what is going to be the real cost of energy when buying on the road?
Too many questions, very few people to answer…
We do not want these higher emissions standards. We need a system of safe parking with electric plugs at trucking companies and shared co op truck parking lots in the U S Canada and with security.