California and some of the nation’s leading truck manufacturers have struck a deal that would make it easier for companies to meet the state’s ambitious goal of 100% zero-emissions vehicle sales by 2036.
The agreement, announced Thursday by the California Air Resources Board and the Truck and Engine Manufacturer’s Association, introduces compromises that would help the trucking industry to meet the state’s emissions requirements while also enabling the state to achieve its climate goals.
“The unprecedented collaboration between California regulators and truck manufacturers marks a new era in our zero-emission future,” Liane Randolph, CARB’s chair, said in a statement Thursday. “This agreement makes it clear that we have shared goals to tackle pollution and climate change and to ensure the success of the truck owners and operators who provide critical services to California’s economy.”
In striking the deal, the state avoids potential legal challenges from engine manufacturers, which previously criticized the state’s strict emissions goals and its move to ban diesel engines.
The Clean Truck Partnership, as the joint initiative is known, includes some of the country’s largest truck engine manufacturers such as General Motors, Ford, Navistar, Volvo and Daimler, as well as other members of the EMA.
As part of the agreement, the companies promised to uphold their commitment to 100% clean truck sales by 2036, even if the state’s plan faces legal challenges in court.
In exchange, regulators agreed to align California’s rule for nitrogen oxide emissions with the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s 2027 standards, which are less stringent. The EPA’s rule cuts nitrogen oxide emissions in half by 2045.
The air board also said it would modify parts of the state’s 2024 nitrogen oxide emissions goals. Instead, the manufacturers could use offsets to maintain the state’s emissions targets.
Finally, regulators committed to providing no fewer than four years of lead time, and at least three years of regulatory stability, before imposing any new zero-emissions requirements.
“This agreement reaffirms EMA’s and its members’ longstanding commitment to reducing emissions and to a zero-emissions commercial vehicle future,” said EMA president Jed Mandel in a statement Thursday. “It demonstrates how EMA and CARB can work together to achieve shared clean air goals.”
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