First it was lawnmowers. Then it was gas-powered cars. .Now California continues to raise the bar for clean air regulations after it proposed to ban the sale of heavy duty diesel trucks after 2036, the first rule of its kind in the world..According to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), heavy trucks represent only 6% of the vehicles on California’s roads, yet account for more than 35% of the state’s transportation generated nitrogen oxide emissions and a quarter of its on-road greenhouse gas emissions. .California communities that sit near trucking corridors and warehouse locations with heavy truck traffic have some of the worst air quality in the Lower 48, it said in a statement..Known as Advanced Clean Fleets, the new rule puts California on a path toward accomplishing Gov. Gavin Newsome’s goal of fully transitioning trucks in the state to zero-emissions technology by 2045..Said CARB Chair Liane Randolph: “The Advanced Clean Fleets rule is a reasonable and innovative approach to clean up the vehicles on our roads and ensure Californians have the clean air that they want and deserve. At the same time, this rule provides manufacturers, truck owners and fuelling providers the assurance there will be a market and the demand for zero-emissions vehicles, while providing a flexible path to making the transition toward clean air.”.Under the new rule, fleet owners operating vehicles for private services such as last-mile delivery and federal fleets such as the postal service, along with state and local government fleets, will begin the transition toward zero-emission vehicles starting in 2024. The rule includes the ability to continue operating existing vehicles through their useful life. .However, fleets that operate near heavily trafficked population corridors will need to be zero-emissions by 2035. All other fleet owners will have the option to transition a percentage of their vehicles to meet expected zero-emission milestones, which CARB said gives owners the flexibility to continue operating combustion-powered vehicles as needed during the move toward cleaner technology. .For example, last mile delivery and yard trucks must transition by 2035, work trucks and day cab tractors must be zero-emission by 2039, and sleeper cab tractors and specialty vehicles must be zero-emission by 2042..An analysis of future sales and purchase requirements estimates about 1.7 million zero-emission trucks will hit California roads by 2050. To support the added load to its power system, California is set to spend almost $3 billion between 2021–2025 in zero-emission trucks and infrastructure as part of a $9 billion multi-year, multi-agency zero-emissions vehicle package that was agreed to by the governor and the state legislature in 2021..In addition to transportation, California has strict limits on everyday items such as appliances, building codes and even personal electronics such as televisions. .That has often put it at loggerheads with other states and even the US government. Earlier this year 17 states complained to the US Environmental Protection Agency that California has too much power when setting national standards. Missouri went as far as to accuse them of being oppressive. .But Cali residents wield enormous spending power; by some estimates one of every eight consumer dollars in the US is spent in the Golden State. Auto manufacturers are often forced to play along or risk access to one of the country’s — and world’s — most lucrative vehicle markets. .In what is known as the “California Effect,” those standards often wind up being adopted by other states and even national governments — which means it might not be long until similar rules are adopted in Canada and the EU.
First it was lawnmowers. Then it was gas-powered cars. .Now California continues to raise the bar for clean air regulations after it proposed to ban the sale of heavy duty diesel trucks after 2036, the first rule of its kind in the world..According to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), heavy trucks represent only 6% of the vehicles on California’s roads, yet account for more than 35% of the state’s transportation generated nitrogen oxide emissions and a quarter of its on-road greenhouse gas emissions. .California communities that sit near trucking corridors and warehouse locations with heavy truck traffic have some of the worst air quality in the Lower 48, it said in a statement..Known as Advanced Clean Fleets, the new rule puts California on a path toward accomplishing Gov. Gavin Newsome’s goal of fully transitioning trucks in the state to zero-emissions technology by 2045..Said CARB Chair Liane Randolph: “The Advanced Clean Fleets rule is a reasonable and innovative approach to clean up the vehicles on our roads and ensure Californians have the clean air that they want and deserve. At the same time, this rule provides manufacturers, truck owners and fuelling providers the assurance there will be a market and the demand for zero-emissions vehicles, while providing a flexible path to making the transition toward clean air.”.Under the new rule, fleet owners operating vehicles for private services such as last-mile delivery and federal fleets such as the postal service, along with state and local government fleets, will begin the transition toward zero-emission vehicles starting in 2024. The rule includes the ability to continue operating existing vehicles through their useful life. .However, fleets that operate near heavily trafficked population corridors will need to be zero-emissions by 2035. All other fleet owners will have the option to transition a percentage of their vehicles to meet expected zero-emission milestones, which CARB said gives owners the flexibility to continue operating combustion-powered vehicles as needed during the move toward cleaner technology. .For example, last mile delivery and yard trucks must transition by 2035, work trucks and day cab tractors must be zero-emission by 2039, and sleeper cab tractors and specialty vehicles must be zero-emission by 2042..An analysis of future sales and purchase requirements estimates about 1.7 million zero-emission trucks will hit California roads by 2050. To support the added load to its power system, California is set to spend almost $3 billion between 2021–2025 in zero-emission trucks and infrastructure as part of a $9 billion multi-year, multi-agency zero-emissions vehicle package that was agreed to by the governor and the state legislature in 2021..In addition to transportation, California has strict limits on everyday items such as appliances, building codes and even personal electronics such as televisions. .That has often put it at loggerheads with other states and even the US government. Earlier this year 17 states complained to the US Environmental Protection Agency that California has too much power when setting national standards. Missouri went as far as to accuse them of being oppressive. .But Cali residents wield enormous spending power; by some estimates one of every eight consumer dollars in the US is spent in the Golden State. Auto manufacturers are often forced to play along or risk access to one of the country’s — and world’s — most lucrative vehicle markets. .In what is known as the “California Effect,” those standards often wind up being adopted by other states and even national governments — which means it might not be long until similar rules are adopted in Canada and the EU.
