Businesses, Investors Welcome New EPA Emissions Standards For Large Trucks And Heavy-Duty Vehicles

(MENAFN- 3BL) March 29, 2024 /3BL/ - Major businesses and investors welcome the heavy-duty vehicle emissions standard unveiled today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is projected to have vast economic, climate, and public health benefits by spurring the sale of clean large trucks and other vehicles across the U.S.

The new emissions standards, covering model years 2027 – 2032, are expected to reduce carbon pollution from large trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles by avoiding 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases from 2027 through 2055, generating $13 billion in net annualized benefits through 2055 to the U.S. It comes a week after the EPA finalized its emissions standard for light- and medium-duty vehicles such as cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks, which are projected to spur zero-emission models to about two-thirds of new vehicle sales by 2032.

The final heavy-duty standards set a predictable national baseline that will expand access to clean trucks, boost domestic manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles and their batteries, and guide companies across the economy toward cleaner fleets. They will significantly reduce pollution from transportation, the leading source of global greenhouse gas emissions.

As businesses increasingly seek clean vehicles to reduce pollution across their supply chains and lower fuel and maintenance costs, Ceres, CALSTART, and other partners have worked to organize corporate advocacy for policies that support these goals, including stronger EPA emissions standards.

More than 60 companies and investors - including Avocado Green Brands, Enel North America, Friends Fiduciary Corporation, Hackensack Meridian Health, IKEA, Lion Electric, Lucid, New Belgium Brewing, Nestlé, Siemens, Sierra Nevada Brewing, Snowsports Industries of America, Workhorse, and Zevin Asset Management - signed a letter last year calling for strong EPA standards for all classes of vehicles.

“Transportation is the largest source of [greenhouse gas] emissions in the U.S. and represents a substantial component of our companies' and portfolios' carbon footprint. By enacting strong vehicle emissions standards that require vehicle manufacturers to produce increasingly efficient and clean vehicles and drive the electrification of the sector, EPA will help ensure the availability of the vehicles needed by companies to cut operating costs, reduce emissions consistent with our climate goals, and support healthy communities for our customers and employees,” the signatories wrote in the letter to the EPA.

The Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance , which is led by Ceres and made up of 33 businesses working to increase electric vehicle availability to scale companies' clean fleets, also called on the EPA to pass the strongest possible vehicle emission standards. Reducing emissions from the transportation sector is critical to the Ceres Ambition 2030 initiative, which aims to decarbonize six of the highest emitting sectors in the U.S.

Since they were proposed in April 2023, CALSTART has been strongly supportive of ambitious vehicle standards for heavy-duty vehicles, spearheading advocacy efforts, organizing stakeholder meetings with private-sector leaders, and building industry knowledge and support, as well as authoring a white paper underscoring pathways to building out advanced levels of charging infrastructure.

Businesses and investors have also been essential advocates for federal policies to expand access to zero-emission trucks and the availability of charging infrastructure through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. And they have been essential supporters for state policies to expand zero-emission vehicle sales, like the Advanced Clean Trucks rules.

Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world's greatest sustainability challenges. Through our powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies, and nonprofits, we drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres and follow @CeresNews.

A mission-driven industry organization focused on transportation decarbonization and clean air for all, CALSTART has offices in New York, Michigan, Colorado, California, Florida, and Europe. CALSTART is uniquely positioned to build the national clean transportation industry by working closely with its member companies and building on the lessons learned from the major programs it manages for the State of California. CALSTART has more than 280 member companies and manages more than $500 million in vehicle incentive and technical assistance programs in the United States.

Media Contact : Helen Booth-Tobin, ..., 617-247-0700 ext. 214

MENAFN29032024007202015466ID1108037242