Press Release

March 29, 2024

ELPC Welcomes EPA Final Rule to Strengthen Heavy-Duty Vehicle GHG Emission Standards

“This rule will help cut climate and air pollution and deliver benefits as it cleans up the air in overburdened communities crossed by trucking routes and dotted with logistics facilities”

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Statement by Ann Mesnikoff, Federal Legislative Director

 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY CENTER

“The Environmental Law & Policy Center welcomes U.S. EPA’s final Phase 3 heavy-duty vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards. While heavy duty vehicles are a small proportion of vehicles on our roads, they emit a disproportionate amount of climate and air pollution.

“The final rule continues to ramp down greenhouse gas pollution for a range of vehicles, including trucks and buses, starting in model year 2027. These new standards will help drive low and zero greenhouse gas emission technologies for a broad range of trucks while also adding important reductions in air pollution.

“These new rules are important since trucks and buses account for one-third of transportation climate pollution. The Midwest is criss-crossed by interstate highways carrying tens of thousands of trucks per day, and densely populated neighborhoods in Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Des Moines are each crossed daily by at least 50,000 or more trucks. This rule will also help deliver public health benefits as it will help cut air pollution in overburdened communities crossed by trucking routes and dotted with logistics facilities.

“Over and over again the world’s leading climate scientists are telling us we need to act to slash the pollution driving the climate crisis. These new emissions standards for the broad class of highly polluting heavy-duty trucks is one more step the Biden administration has taken to reduce U.S. climate pollution. This new rule, along with several other EPA standards and rules finalized in recent weeks or expected soon, will contribute critical reductions in climate pollution. They include stronger tailpipe pollution standards for light and medium-duty vehicles announced last week, rules targeting methane pollution from the oil and gas industry, and upcoming standards for power plants.”