Truckers believe that California’s decision to drop a mandate for zero-emissions big rigs is the start of a broader rollback of emissions regulations under the incoming Trump administration.
California’s air regulator on Tuesday dropped a request to the Environmental Protection Agency for a waiver that would have allowed it to force truckers to buy battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell trucks. The head of the California Air Resources Board said the agency withdrew the request because of concerns the Trump administration would deny it.
California is the leader among states implementing regulations to reduce the number of diesel-powered trucks on the road. Truck manufacturers and carriers believe the Trump administration could slow state campaigns as well as federal regulations due to take effect in the coming years.
“We’re looking to the incoming administration to get in there and put in some guidelines that make sense for reducing emissions and for setting standards that are actually achievable,” said Lisa Yakomin, president of the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers, which represents truckers that haul containers to and from the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Heavy-duty trucks are one of the biggest sources of pollution on U.S. roads, contributing to climate change as well as respiratory problems and other health issues, especially in low-income areas close to ports and other freight hubs. Trucking industry officials say they support moves toward cleaner fuels, but they say regulations such as California’s strict mandate aren’t workable because the technology and infrastructure for zero-emissions heavy-duty trucks aren’t sufficiently developed.
States like California have said the mandates would stimulate demand and the build-out of needed infrastructure for zero-emission trucking.
California a few years ago introduced regulations that require manufacturers to sell an increasing number of zero-emissions trucks starting with the 2024 model year. Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey have since enacted similar rules, and other states are introducing similar legislation.
The requirement that California abandoned was designed to create demand for those zero-emissions big rigs by requiring that truckers who call at California seaports or who operate fleets in the state increasingly buy alternative-fuel trucks.
Truckers say those trucks aren’t ready for widespread use in operations.
Battery-electric big rigs cost about three times as much as diesel trucks. Truckers say the vehicles are less efficient than diesel trucks because they have limited driving range, require extended down time for charging and can only haul lighter loads due to the weight of their battery.
Many truckers don’t have access to chargers and they say that regional and national charging networks for heavy-duty big rigs don’t yet exist.
Hydrogen fuel-cell technology, which has some advantages over batteries in terms of its weight and driving range, is years behind development of battery technology.
Regulators have continued to press on with their zero-emission mandates. The Biden administration developed a federal rule that requires a growing proportion of heavy-duty truck sales to be zero-emissions rigs starting in 2027, so that 25% of long-haul truck sales and 40% of short-haul truck sales are compliant by 2032.
Trump is planning to press for a rollback of tailpipe emissions rules for passenger vehicles, according to oil industry lobbyists, part of an effort to unwind President Biden’s push for the U.S. to adopt electric vehicles.
“I think the administration is going to do a review of everything that happened under the Biden administration coming out of the EPA and determine what is the right approach,” said Jacqueline Gelb, president of the industry group American Truck Dealers. “We need achievable regulations and the path that we’re currently on right now is not achievable.”
Gelb said the group “has engaged with the Trump transition team” to get the incoming administration to revoke waivers the Biden administration has granted California for some state emissions restrictions.
California regulators say they will continue their efforts to reduce emissions under existing local regulations. These include rules that impose new emissions restrictions on diesel engines and that force warehouses to reduce pollution caused by their operations, including trucking.
Matt Schrap, chief executive of the Harbor Trucking Association, a California industry group, said the state’s withdrawal of its broad mandate won’t “stop localized rules from being promulgated.”
