Larisa Manescu, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal for curbing emissions from heavy duty trucks, a significant source of dangerous air pollution nationwide which disproportionately impacts communities of color. The Biden administration also announced billions of dollars of investments to electrify the nation’s trucks and buses, including school buses and transit buses, and lower emissions from ports.
The Clean Trucks proposal contains a standard that would reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution from on-road heavy duty trucks, as well as a standard that would reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transit buses, school buses, last mile delivery trucks, and day tractors.
It is significant that the EPA has proposed and will finalize this rule this year after decades of inaction on reducing pollution from the freight system in the US, but the proposal must be strengthened. Federal leadership on this is crucial. It's time for the EPA to set policy that accelerates electric truck adoption as quickly as possible.
Although trucks make up less than 10 percent of vehicles on the road, they spew the majority of hazardous air pollutants, 63 percent of NOx (a precursor to smog) and nearly 25 percent of the transportation sector’s greenhouse gasses.
In response, Sierra Club President Ramón Cruz released the following statement:
“The importance and urgency of this rule cannot be overstated: A strong federal rule that is bold in cleaning up dirty diesel trucks is essential for the Biden administration to deliver on its climate and environmental justice commitments.
"Today’s proposal ultimately falls short of what environmental justice communities have been demanding, but there is opportunity for the EPA through its regulatory process to hear directly from advocates on what the science requires and what the lived experiences of people living near high-traffic corridors so clearly demonstrate. This is also an opportunity for manufacturers to chart a path to zero-emission; the technology is here to get cleaner trucks and buses on roads, and we resist any efforts to delay action any further.
"We urge the EPA to move swiftly to strengthen this rule to get us on the path to 100 percent zero-emission sales of trucks and buses by 2035.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.