EPA Issues Truck Pollution Standards

WASHINGTON  – The Environmental Protection Agency released standards to reduce tailpipe emissions from new heavy-duty trucks. These final standards follow a recent federal strategy to build out a national zero emission freight corridor network, which will put the nation on the road to a clean freight system.

The EPA rule, which will run from model years 2027 through 2032, sets carbon pollution standards for heavy-duty trucks – avoiding 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions while also cutting pollutants that cause soot and smog. As a result, it will reduce cases of asthma, heart disease and lung disease. 

The following is a statement from Guillermo Ortiz, clean vehicles advocate at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):

“Tailpipe pollution from trucks has been exacerbating climate change and harming public health for far too long. These EPA standards will help protect our families from dangerous pollution while steering us toward a safer climate.

“This rule could have done more. Our nation needs a vision to eliminate pollution from the freight transportation system. Every wheeze, every gasp for breath in communities impacted by the movement of freight serves as a reminder of the urgency to act. The federal government needs to fully address this scourge on our families.”
 

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law, and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health, and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd). Visit us at http://www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.