The EPA on Monday proposed stricter emissions standards for commercial vehicles, but environmental groups believe the proposed rules are not enough to emphasize electrification.
According to an EPA press release, the proposed standards will go into effect in the 2027 model year, the proposed standards would reduce nitrous oxide emissions from trucks by 60 percent by 2045. said this would cause 2,100 fewer premature deaths and 18,000 fewer childhood asthma cases.
The EPA also proposes new greenhouse gas emissions standards for the 2027 model year and beyond “for subsectors where electrification is progressing at a faster rate.” This includes school buses, feeder buses, commercial delivery trucks and short-distance tractors, the agency said.
Volvo VNR Electric pickup truck
The new emissions standards will be followed by new emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks as early as the 2030 model year, according to the EPA. “These new standards will more comprehensively address the long-term trend towards zero-emission vehicles in the heavy transport sector,” the agency said.
However, environmental groups say the proposed standards should do more to encourage the deployment of electric trucks.
Peter Zalzal, senior adviser to the Environmental Defense Fund and vice president of Clean Air Strategy, said: “Today’s proposal by the EPA and the administration’s planned actions and investments is one important start”, but they do not yet guarantee the extent to which Zero Emission Vehicle Deployment is feasible and necessary. “
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Johanna Chao Kreilick, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement: “The proposed greenhouse gas rule is the bare minimum to admit zero-emission trucks,” Johanna Chao Kreilick, The president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement, adding that the EPA is being pressured by truck manufacturers to establish weaker emissions rules.
Some groups criticized The EPA’s “lightness” for truck manufacturers to sell electric trucks – far outweighs the real-world emissions benefits and allows them to sell more dirt trucks.
The EPA proposal is also less focused on zero-emission vehicle technology than California, which is electric truck commission starting in 2024. That will be supported by a push to the surrounding infrastructure fuel cells and megawatt charging technology. California is part of the union 15 states and the District of Columbia to require all new medium and heavy-duty trucks sold in their jurisdictions to be electric by 2050.
