New Zero-Emission Truck Regulation Will Speed Up Reduction of Harmful Emissions of Air Pollutants and Help Meet California Clean Energy Vision

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has a long history of working to clean up dirty heavy-duty trucks. However, there is still work to do as trucks remain a large contributor to poor air quality in the state. While medium- and heavy-duty vehicles make up less than 7 percent of the vehicles registered with the DMV, they account for 80 percent of the state’s diesel pollution and 50 percent of smog-causing pollution. Over 90 percent of all Californians breathe unhealthy air from one or more pollutants throughout the year and overburdened communities suffer the most health impacts from truck pollution. To address this, CARB is working on a new regulation to make trucks and buses the cleanest they can be by transitioning to zero-tailpipe emission technologies. CARB recognizes that better regulations are written when all voices are heard and there are several ways for your community to be involved. The proposed Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation (ACF) is now in the development stages and CARB staff are holding meetings and events designed to hear your comments and input. Read on to learn more about the proposed regulation and how to get involved. 

 

California is working to meet the Governor’s goal of one hundred percent zero-emission transportation where feasible by 2045. To read more about these plans you can check out the Governor’s Executive Order N-79-20. The Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation is just one piece of California’s strategy to protect public health from harmful transportation emissions and meet these important climate goals. It proposes zero-emission deadlines as early as 2023 for certain activities such as local delivery and transportation to and from railyards and ports (drayage trucks). The idea is to transition the vehicles that most commonly run through neighborhoods and help reduce air pollution where people live. These fleet types make the most sense to begin the transition to zero-emission because of things such as vehicle size, operating time, and they can have an immediate impact in California communities. ACF will not only significantly lower cancer-causing pollutants but will also reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which will help stabilize the climate and benefit all communities. The cumulative total emissions reductions from 2023 to 2050 is estimated to result in 477,583 tons reduction in Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), 9,169 tons reduction in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and 277.7 million metric tons reduction of GHG emissions.

Staff plans to take this important regulation for public health to our Board in mid-2022. The plan is to propose different requirements for three groups of truck fleet types, including Drayage trucks, Public Fleets, and High Priority Fleets. Drayage trucks are class 7 and 8 trucks that travel to and from railyards and ports. Public Fleets are the vehicles owned by the county, city, state or other local municipalities. And lastly, High Priority Fleets are currently defined in the regulation language as the federal government and private companies with over 50 million dollars in yearly revenue or that operate 50 or more trucks per year. A fourth group, manufacturers that sell trucks in California, will also see new requirements with the ACF regulation.

The following list outlines some of the important milestones in the regulation:

Drayage Trucks

• 2023 – Any new port or railyard truck added to the CARB Drayage Registery must be zero-emission.
• 2035 – All truck operations in railyards and seaports must be zero-emission.  

High Priority Fleets

• 2025 – Begin percentage phase-in requirement of zero-emission vehicles by body type and suitability.
• 2035 – 100% zero-emission fleet required for box trucks, vans, buses & yard tractors.
• 2039 – 100% zero-emission fleet required for work trucks, day cab tractors, three-axle buses.
• 2042 – 100% zero-emission fleet required for sleeper cab tractors and specialty vehicles.

Public Fleets

• 2024 – 50% of new vehicle purchases must be zero-emission.
• 2027 – 100% of new vehicle purchases must be zero-emission.

Manufacturers

• 2040 – 100% zero-emission vehicle sales requirement.

 

The Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation is just one of the ways that CARB is addressing health impacts from heavy-duty trucks. CARB also recently passed the Advanced Clean Trucks Regulation (ACT) which requires truck manufacturers to ramp up sales of zero-emission trucks each year. This adopted regulation will help ensure that manufacturers offer affordable zero emission choices to fleets, while also delivering on accelerated air quality benefits to the communities that need it the most. In other words, ACT will provide the supply and the ACF will provide the demand. Together they are projected to add an average of 35,000 zero-emission vehicles to the road per year between 2024 and 2045. CARB is ensuring the fleets that have the resources to transition are doing so, but we are also working with folks who own fleets of all sizes to fund their transition to cleaner vehicles. Part of this effort includes a large increase in state funding to help make up the difference in cost. The Hybrid and Zero-Emission Incentive Program offers point-of-sale discounts to drive commercial technology transformation and a new push is in motion to prioritize small fleets in the funding process.

We are also prioritizing the clean-up of existing trucks still on the road. This is crucial because state law guarantees existing diesel trucks, that are already meeting CARB rules, can stay on the road for a minimum number of years. To do this we are working to tighten inspection and maintenance requirements to keep trucks running as clean as possible. You can think of it like smog check, but for heavy-duty trucks and buses. The Heavy-Duty Inspection and Maintenance Regulation will be heard by the Board in December of this year. CARB is also requiring cleaner fuels and engines for these diesel vehicles that will continue to be on the road.

We want to hear from everyone that might be affected by the proposed Advanced Clean Fleets regulation. Your input is very valuable during the process of developing these truck related regulations to make sure that all parties are represented. You can read and comment on the drafted regulation language found on the Advanced Clean Fleets Program Webpage. You can also check out the FAQs and stay tuned for upcoming events by subscribing to CARB’s ZEV Fleet GovDelivery email list.