New EPA regulations target heavy-duty trucks in effort to reduce emissions

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken further steps in its efforts to reduce emissions from vehicles, this time focusing on heavy-duty trucks. Following the recent implementation of new tailpipe emissions standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles, the EPA has now extended its regulations to target the largest polluters on the nation’s roadways.

“In finalizing these emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses, EPA is significantly cutting pollution from the hardest working vehicles on the road,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “Building on our recently finalized rule for light- and medium-duty vehicles, EPA’s strong and durable vehicle standards respond to the urgency of the climate crisis by making deep cuts in emissions from the transportation sector.”

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Industrial vehicles, although comprising only about 5% of the country’s vehicle fleet, are responsible for 20% of transportation emissions. To combat this, the White House is rolling out what it deems the “strongest ever greenhouse gas standards for heavy-duty vehicles.”

“The 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions avoided by these standards is equivalent to the emissions from more than 13 million tanker trucks’ worth of gasoline,” the Biden administration said in a statement. “With this action, the Biden-Harris administration is continuing to deliver on the most ambitious climate agenda in history while advancing a historic commitment to environmental justice.”

While it isn’t an outright electric vehicle mandate, the new regulations progressively restrict the amount of pollution permissible from trucks across a manufacturer’s product line over time. Automakers will need to adapt, with the regulations set to affect vehicles manufactured from 2027 onwards, with increasingly tighter emissions restrictions each year through 2032.

The impact of these regulations will extend to various larger vehicles, including tractor-trailers, ambulances, RVs, garbage trucks, school buses, and more.

The EPA estimates that these measures could result in a substantial shift, with potentially 25% of long-haul trucks and 40% of medium-sized trucks becoming zero-emission vehicles by 2032, a stark contrast to the current less than 2% of new heavy trucks sold in the U.S. fitting that criteria.

“Today’s announcement demonstrates that a zero-emission heavy-duty vehicle future is not only achievable, but more essential than ever given the disproportionate rate of greenhouse gas emissions from buses and trucks,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif. 

The federal government has said that come 2055, this plan could help create $13 billion in annual net benefits to society through the form of reduced health care costs, environmental improvements and fuel savings. However, the trucking industry has expressed reservations about the regulations’ implications.

“This administration appears more focused on placating extreme environmental activists who have never been inside a truck than the small-business truckers who ensure that Americans have food in their grocery stores and clothes on their backs,” said Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

Jed Mandel, the president of the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association, has cautioned that the new rules could pose significant challenges, and “end up being the most challenging, costly and potentially disruptive heavy-duty emissions rule in history.”

Leaders within the U.S. oil industry have also voiced opposition to the new regulations, indicating preparedness to challenge their enforcement in court.