The California Air Resources Board (CARB) released a statement of intent that proposes Advanced Clean Trucks regulations that would sales and reporting requirements for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The CARB Board is expected to consider the first of its kind regulation for adoption next year.
“Trucks are increasingly a major contributor to air pollution nationwide, but especially in our cities where they are among the largest sources of toxic emissions in vulnerable neighborhoods,” said CARB Chair Mary D. Nichols. “We need to design a regulatory program that gets to the heart of this problem. We will move farther faster in partnership with other states who share the same commitment to cleaning up trucks and protecting public health.”
States joining with California to on the effort to accelerate deployment of zero-emission trucks and buses are Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.
California has invested nearly $1 billion in cap and trade proceeds into a variety of demonstration and pilot projects to accelerate and promote the commercialization of zero- and near-zero medium and heavy duty trucks and buses. Companies with large fleets, including Pepsico and FedEx, are partners in these initiatives, along with a broad range of other technology partners.
Other participating states are providing incentives for zero emitting freight trucks, transit buses and school buses; introducing electric shuttle and urban buses into transit fleets; allocating Volkswagen settlement funds toward medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electrification; and piloting innovative approaches such as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) electric school buses.
