Clean Truck Standards Are Off and Rolling

 

(Washington, D.C. – October 25, 2016) America’s fleet of delivery trucks and buses are now officially on their way to using less fuel, emitting less pollution, and saving more money.

The second-phase Clean Truck Standards were published in the Federal Register today, marking their official promulgation.

“The Clean Truck standards are vital for America’s efforts to address climate change, reduce oil use, and strengthen our economy,” said Jason Mathers, EDF’s Director of Supply Chain. “As of today, these common sense standards are off and rolling toward a safer, healthier clean energy future for all of us.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the standards, formally known as the final second-phase climate pollution and fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles, in August. They build on the success of the irst ever heavy-duty fuel economy and GHG program, which was finalized in 2011.

The Clean Truck standards apply to the freight trucks that transport the products we buy every day, as well as to buses and school buses, tractor-trailers, heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, and garbage trucks. These heavy duty vehicles use almost 120 million gallons of fuel every day, and emit hundreds of millions of metric tons of climate pollution each year.

 EPA and DOT say that the new second-phase standards, which apply to vehicles beginning in model year 2021, will: 

• Reduce climate pollution by 1.1 billion tons
• Reduce American fuel use by two billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the trucks
• Save truck owners $170 billion in fuel costs over the lifetime of their vehicles
• Result in $230 billion in societal benefits over the life of the program

The program will also benefit con­sumers by reducing the costs for shipping goods. The Consumer Federation of America found that rigorous fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards could save American households $250 annually in the near term and $400 annually by 2035.

A wide variety of truck and equipment manufacturers, fleets, policymakers, and clean air and human health advocates have spoken out in favor of the Clean Truck standards. You can read their comments here. You can also read more about the Clean Truck program on EDF’s website.