Pushing for Electric Trucks in California
Sierra Club California Report Analyzes Alternatives to Biomass Incineration
Summit Provides Inspiration to Win
Pushing for Electric Trucks in California
By Katherine Garcia
Photo by Jimmy O'Dea
Delivery, refuse and drayage trucks in California are turning heads. Why? Because residents are beginning to spot all-electric versions of these commercial vehicles on our roads.
These new medium- and heavy-duty trucks are zero-emission vehicles, which means they don’t spew diesel or methane gas emissions. Electric trucks are key to improving air quality and reducing climate pollution from the transportation sector.
California needs to accelerate the adoption of electric trucks. Environmental advocates tracking the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the agency that regulates tailpipe emissions, hoped that it was about to propose a rule that would set this critical transition in motion. Unfortunately, we are gravely disappointed with the current version of the Advanced Clean Truck Rule.
On October 22, CARB released a plan that would require truck manufacturers to incrementally increase the number of electric trucks on the market between 2024 to 2030. According to our analysis, the sales target would only amount to 75,000 zero-emission trucks by 2030--that’s just about 4 percent of all the trucks on the road.
On December 12, Sierra Club California and a coalition of allies consisting of environmental justice, health, labor, and environmental organizations will attend the CARB hearing to advocate for a much stronger rule. The technology is ready to meet sales targets that would result in 15 percent of trucks to be zero emission by 2030.
Between now and the December board meeting, our coalition is sending in comment letters, meeting individually with board members and employing a robust communications campaign to stress the importance of a strong rule now. We have launched a coalition website at ElectricTrucksNow.com that outlines our recommendations and research.
Climate scientists have determined that we have less than 11 years left to dramatically reduce transportation emissions to avoid the worst effects of climate change. We don’t have time for piecemeal, short-sighted policies. CARB must prepare a bold rule that will push truck manufacturers to produce zero-emission trucks at the pace needed.
We have solid examples of companies and cities purchasing zero-emission trucks because they are cleaner, quieter, and more cost-effective. UPS and FedEx have ordered 1,000 electric vans each and Amazon has ordered 100,000 electric trucks for their delivery routes. Carson, California has started transitioning to fully electric waste trucks and more cities are following its lead.
The business case for electric trucks is strong. And with more than 90 percent of Californians living in areas impacted by unhealthy levels of air pollution, electric trucks are a public health necessity. Now we want CARB to help spur the clean truck market by adopting a landmark, technology-forcing policy that will make sure buyers have electric truck options.
If you’re interested in learning more or joining our campaign, please reach out to me at katherine.garcia@sierraclub.org.
Sierra Club California Report Analyzes Alternatives to Biomass Incineration
By Daniel Barad
Sierra Club California has been advocating to impeach incineration as the chief use for biomass in California and for policies that support cleaner, more sustainable uses.
To help advance our advocacy, this month we released the report Moving Beyond Incineration which analyzes various ways to dispose of or use woody biomass that produce less pollution than incineration and create sustainable jobs.
The report estimates that, given existing policies, about 279,261 tons of biomass could be produced annually over the next 5 years through state-funded forest thinning and community protection projects. In recent years, this sort of biomass waste has been directed towards existing high-polluting incinerators that are propped up by government policies.
The report considers five different ways to use or dispose of biomass that does not include incineration. The analysis shows that each of these methods results in products that provide beneficial uses to people or the environment while also creating less environmental damage than incineration does.
The five different methods described and analyzed include:
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Wood chips, mulch and shavings;
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Posts and pole manufacture;
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Fiberboard, particle board and oriented strand board;
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Mass timber; and
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Furniture and finished carpentry (including with beetle-infected wood).
These methods are not free of environmental impacts, and it will be critical that they are sustainably scaled and sited and that their impacts continue to be evaluated. However, these methods are all preferable to biomass incineration.
Current biomass incinerators benefiting from state policies emit more CO2 than gas power plants. The incinerators also produce electricity that is more expensive than clean, renewable energy and tend to displace the development of renewables.
A lack of imagination led the state to require ratepayers to subsidize these emission-belchers to the tune of $76.8 million dollars. Our report shows that there are sustainable, cleaner uses for biomass that deserve state investment.
The report, Moving Beyond Incineration, can be found at Sierra Club California’s website here.
Summit Provides Inspiration to Win
By Katherine Garcia
At this year’s chapter Summit in Pasadena, keynote speaker Manuel Pastor shared important tactics for electing progressive candidates with the 2020 election in mind.
He said we must change the electorate to ensure that we reach new and occasional voters. We must move the “middle” by developing a new narrative that drags the midpoint of an issue towards our view. Most importantly, progressive candidates must run everywhere.
His talk conveyed the views from his recent book State of Resistance: What California’s Dizzying Decent and Remarkable Resurgence Mean for America’s Future. It was an important starting point for the day, which examined California’s leadership in environmental policies and how we can strengthen the California Deal as the Green New Deal gains momentum nationally.
Throughout the day, Sierra Club California hosted several panels and discussion sessions. During the clean transportation panel, Jennifer Kropke from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers made a strong case for ensuring the clean energy economy includes union jobs for the middle class while we reduce pollution.
Later in the day, sustainable water experts discussed equitable water policies. Phoebe Seaton from Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability stressed that we must be vigilant against polluters seeking reprieve; the tax-paying and water-drinking public should not shoulder the burden of their share of the drinking water crisis in California.
Attendees also participated in a lively brainstorming session about bill ideas for the future. Suggestions included holding polluters accountable, accelerating the implementation of SB 100’s goal for 100% carbon-free energy, reducing plastic waste, improving composting programs, to name just a few.
The Summit was held in Pasadena to make travel more convenient for participants based in Southern California. Approximately 100 members and supporters attended the event. Next year the Summit will be held in Northern California.
Thank you to all our event organizers, inspiring speakers and everyone that attended. Your participation made the event a great success.
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