EVs are important, but big commercial diesels pollute the most — that’s why a plan for 17 states to electrify their truck fleet is big news!
An alliance of 17 states, plus the District of Columbia and Quebec, have pledged to electrify 30% of new truck and bus fleets within their jurisdictions by 2030. They have also set a goal of making 100% of new trucks and bus sales to be zero-emission by 2050.
Vehicles that would be covered by this plan include medium-duty and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, which would include pickup trucks and vans all the way to long-haul trucks, transit buses, and public school buses.
California had already been at the forefront of regulating commercial-vehicle emissions, with its Advanced Clean Truck rules requiring a certain percentage of advanced-technology trucks to be on the road. Meanwhile, the state’s Heavy-Duty Omnibus rule had set emissions levels for new fossil fuel trucks to start in model year 2024 and would further tighten its restrictions in 2027 — but it has been challenged by a lawsuit from the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association, which alleges that manufacturers weren’t given enough lead time.
In a show of support for the plan, the Sierra Club said in a statement, “Combustion trucks and buses make up only 10% of total vehicles on our roads, but represent a third of climate-disrupting greenhouse gas pollution and a majority of nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution in the transportation sector.”
Here is the full list of states that have signed onto the plan (so far):
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia (DC)
- Hawaii
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
SOURCE | IMAGES: GREEN CAR REPORTS.
