The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved a regulation on Friday, banning the sale of diesel vehicles by 2036 and require all trucks to have zero emissions by 2042. However, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) termed the rule “unrealistic.”
ATA asserts that the infrastructure for vehicle charging is unprepared for the shift and is concerned about how costly a sudden switch to zero-emission automobiles will be.
Additionally, the Advanced Clean Fleets rule, which calls for all delivery and garbage trucks to be electric, was unanimously approved by the California Air Resources Board.
The regulation was in accordance with guidelines that the Biden administration had already passed last month in order to phase out large passenger pickups, semi trailers, and box vehicles that were fueled by diesel.
Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom stated that this is a significant progress toward giving all Californians healthier neighborhoods and cleaner air. He emphasized that the action is an opportunity to demonstrate “what real climate action looks like” to the world.
The Democrat war on fossil fuels endangers our national security.
Democrat’s climate derangement syndrome and government mandated plans to force our country to zero carbon emissions is a real threat to our survival.
They want to eliminate diesel and gasoline fueled engines…— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) April 29, 2023
Although everything seems good, not everyone is happy. Some in the trucking industry are worried that the rule will eventually drive up the cost of goods that are transported by truck.
“As it becomes clear that California’s rhetoric is not being matched by technology, we hope the Board will reverse course and allow trucking companies the freedom to choose the clean technologies that work best for their operations,” ATA said in a statement.
According to them, truck emissions have already decreased significantly in recent years.
The state is just not prepared for all of these regulations, which is the problem. California’s old power grid is already prone to brownouts and blackouts and is unable to support millions of additional electric cars and trucks.
In an interview with the California Globe on Friday, Simon Bernard, a trucking advocate who consults with numerous shipping and trucking businesses on fleet and logistics concerns said, “CARB did not do their homework here. A gradual shift based on capacity and technology? Sure. That’s fine. But California has set all these unrealistic dates, and you just know these deadlines are going to be broken.”
“As soon as people start complaining about trucking delays and stuff taking much longer to reach them because of all the snafus that are going to happen here, you are going to see a lot of exceptions and delays sprout up. Fleet electrization in China and Europe brought up similar issues,” he continued.
The sector is not opposed to the transition to electric and zero-emission automobiles because it’s inevitable, he explained. However, he wants the legislators to provide a reasonable timetable or communicate with other states so that long-haul truckers can first have a reliable charger support network.
He thinks a lot of this is based on projections, and pointed out that things are constantly subject to change. Rapid change cannot be compelled to occur in the manner one anticipates.
