California tells truckers to ditch ‘dirty diesel’ in groundbreaking zero-emission mandate
Golden State is ‘the first place in the world’ to require manufacturers to dump diesel
California adopted what it has called a “first-in-the-world rule” that will require truck manufacturers to transition to sales of zero-emission vehicles as a means to fight climate change.
The California Air Resources Board voted unanimously this week in favor of the measure, under which manufacturers must phase in zero-emission technology beginning in 2024 – with a full transition expected to be completed by 2045. At that time, the state will only permit sales of zero-emission trucks and delivery vans.
“California is an innovation juggernaut that is going electric,” Jared Blumenfeld, California’s Secretary for Environmental Protection, said in a statement. “We are showing the world that we can move goods, grow our economy and finally dump dirty diesel.”
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By 2035, 40 percent of tractor-trailers must be zero-emission, while 55 percent of smaller, pickup trucks (Class 2b – 3) and 75 percent of medium and heavy-duty trucks and vans (Class 4 – 8 straight) must comply.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that California is “once again leading the nation” in fighting to make the air cleaner.
A number of companies have already begun manufacturing electric big rigs, including Tesla, Nikola Motor and Daimler.
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CARB noted that trucks are the single-largest air pollution source among vehicles, responsible for 70 percent of smog-causing pollution and 80 percent of soot, despite making up only a fraction of total vehicles in the state.
The state has already mandated a transition to zero-emission passenger cars.