By: Lindsey Mendelson, Clean Transportation Representative, Maryland Sierra Club
When you are waiting at a bus stop, walking your dog, or crossing a busy road, you are likely to smell that nasty exhaust from the nearest diesel truck or bus passing by. I shudder when I think about the damage that toxic gas is doing to my lungs every time I breathe in that foul smelling smoke. Diesel pollution is bad for our health and bad for our planet. Transportation is the number one source of pollution fueling climate change. The climate crisis demands we transform our infrastructure away from fossil fuels or face a future where destructive floods, code red air days, and deadly heat waves become even more common.
Aggressive action to combat climate change at the state level is necessary to move the rest of the US and the world in the right direction. I’m glad that I live in a state that I can brag about—Maryland has one of the most ambitious goals to reduce climate pollution in the country. Thanks to the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, Maryland must cut greenhouse gas emissions 60 percent by 2031. It is a tall order, and we need to make sure we pave the pathway for us to hit our targets.
Luckily, Maryland moved one big step closer to reaching our goal by passing the Clean Trucks Act of 2023 (HB 230/ SB 224). This legislation, sponsored by Delegate Sara Love and President Pro Tem Malcolm Augustine, requires Maryland to adopt a regulation this year called the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule. The rule sets requirements for vehicle manufacturers to sell an increasing annual percentage of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, including electric trucks, delivery vans, and school buses, in the state beginning in 2026. In 2020, in the absence of federal regulations, California set the first-in-the-nation standards for the sale of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks through adoption of the ACT rule. Since then, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have adopted the rule, and now Maryland will, too!
I’m grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with an incredible coalition of environmental, community, transportation, and business groups who have been working for over two years to get this regulation on the books in Maryland. We worked with our coalition partners to organize an amazing rally in February where we showcased Montgomery County’s electric school bus, Nikola Tre BEV (a battery-electric class 8 truck), Rivian's R1T (the first electric pickup in America), and school bus artwork by students with Chispa Maryland League of Conservation Voters.
This fight has been an uphill battle. Unfortunately, there have been some industry groups who have tried to derail progress on this regulation. The Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) has lobbied against the ACT and delayed efforts to adopt the regulation in other states. Broad coalition support was important in conveying the feasibility and urgency of adopting the regulation.
The ACT rule provides enormous flexibility for manufacturers to meet the sales requirements through mechanisms such as credit trading across manufacturers and most vehicle classes. The Clean Trucks Act contains provisions, also found in Governor Wes Moore’s complementary Clean Transportation and Energy Act, that provide grants and rebates for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and charging infrastructure. On the federal side, the Inflation Reduction Act provides a $40,000 tax credit for zero-emission vehicles or 30 percent vehicle cost, whichever is lower. It is important that vehicles purchased with these incentives also have good “Vision Zero” design to prevent entirely avoidable traffic fatalities from cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.
Residential neighborhoods located near major roads and highways face disproportionate burdens from traffic and transportation pollution. These neighborhoods are far more often communities of color due to decades of residential segregation, and they bear a burden of higher rates of asthma and other health conditions. Moving forward, additional policies will be important to promote the creation of good green jobs and to ensure that communities most impacted by diesel pollution are prioritized in the transition to electric trucks and school buses.
Maryland has all the ingredients needed to accelerate the transition to zero-emission trucks and school buses. The ACT provides a feasible pathway and timeline for Maryland to plan for this transition and make good on its commitment to a clean transportation future. We look forward to seeing Governor Moore and the Maryland Department of Environment swiftly implement this landmark legislation.