Daily Times

The U.S. state of California on Friday passed the Advanced Clean Fleets rule (ACF), a sweeping new regulation setting timelines for trucks to achieve zero emission as part of its on-going commitment to switch to clean energy. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) unanimously voted to implement the ACF affecting medium and heavy-duty truck fleets of over 50 vehicles. Under the rule, any new trucks registered or sold in California must be zero-emission by 2036, garbage trucks and local buses be zero-emission by 2039 and all other vehicles covered by the rules be zero-emission by 2042, according to the office of Governor Gavin Newsom.

The measure supported the Golden State’s long term mission to go green by abolishing toxic diesel exhaust and eliminating climate-changing greenhouse gases vented in high volumes by tractor-trailers, semi’s, long-haulers, delivery trucks, garbage trucks, and other mid to large-size vehicles by converting them to electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles. Liane Randolph, chairwoman of the CARB, stated on Friday that decarbonizing the transportation sector was one of the most important actions California could implement to reduce harm from climate-changing pollution.

As national landmark regulation to decarbonize heavy transport vehicles, California’s mandate for the first-ever electric or hydrogen truck fleets has prompted many other states in the U.S. to consider similar regulations, such as New York, Washington, Wisconsin and Connecticut.

“The board’s approval of the advanced clean fleet regulations will enable New York and other states to adopt those regulations to support the needed transition to zero emission transportation and cleaner, healthier communities,” affirmed Jared Snyder, deputy commissioner for air resources, climate change and energy at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

But not everyone in California is happy about the regulation. California Trucking Association – the state’s powerful trucking lobby – expressed outrage and concern about the negative impact the new rules could have, warning that they could cause “chaos and dysfunction” and could “fail spectacularly.” The trucking lobby maintained that electric and hydrogen vehicles were still too expensive for many California residents, and the state’s charging station infrastructure was insufficient to support such an increase in the number of electric vehicles. The American Trucking Associations called the rule “unrealistic,” saying “California is setting unrealistic targets and unachievable timelines that will undoubtedly lead to higher prices for the goods and services delivered to the state and fewer options for consumers.” The new regulation could add as many as 510,000 carbon free, medium and heavy-duty vehicles to California’s transportation network by 2035, 1.2 million in 2045, and over 1.5 million by 2050, Lora Cecere, the founder of Supply Chain Insights, wrote in a story published by the Forbes early April.