Zero Emission Trucks
Gr Trucking | Concrete Recycling | Material Trucking | Sacramento
In an article written in The Washington Post by Adam Beam, he discusses how California is considering requiring zero emission truck sales. Here is what you need to know.
California is the country’s most populous state and home to the two largest truck ports – Los Angeles and Long Beach. These two ports have roughly 1.5 million medium and heavy duty trucks on the road that release harmful pollutants as they haul freight to warehouses all over the country. California’s transportation industry accounts for over 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions – one of the main causes of climate change. So, the question is, how can California get the number of carbon-polluting fleet vehicles off the road? The answer might be in the state requiring a portion of new truck sales to be electric or zero emission.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is looking for ways to meet their 5 million zero emission vehicle target by 2030. The conversion of public and private fleets to zero emission trucks offers an important opportunity to get a large number of carbon-polluting fleet vehicles off the road. Regulators estimate that the new rules could potentially result in 74,000 zero emission trucks on the road in California by 2030, or about 4% of all trucks.
On December 12th the CARB considered the new rule in a public hearing that drew over 100 public comments. However, the board will not vote on the proposal until next year. During this meeting advocates did have the opportunity to weigh-in their thoughts and opinions. If this rule or a similar rule were to be adopted, at least 15% of sales of the heaviest trucks like tractor trailers must be zero emission vehicles by 2030.
This is a step in the right direction and a change that could positively impact the health of the suffering state environment in California. For more information stay tuned on our blog page.