The Air Resources Board argues that 135 models of zero-emission trucks are being manufactured and delivered, and billions of dollars in incentives will be available for new vehicles and infrastructure. But port authorities, business leaders and public utilities have expressed concern surrounding the feasibility of purchasing the necessary quantities of zero-emission vehicles and locomotives, in addition to installing the infrastructure, including electric charging stations for trucks. Even still, the newly approved locomotive rule highlights California’s intention to test the limits of its state authority as emission standards for trains have largely been subject to federal regulation.Īs the world’s fourth-largest economy, the state has often thrown around its economic weight to compel industries to comply with its stringent standards. In turn, California’s national influence has grown under a presidential administration that seems to welcome its pacesetting environmental agenda, and a collection of states have chosen to adhere to these more stringent standards rather than those at the federal level.ĭue to historically poor air quality, California is the only state in the nation granted the right to set its own emission standards for motor vehicles, with federal government approval.
In the last year alone, California has also banned the sale of new gasoline cars by 2035 and set requirements that an increasing percentage of annual truck sales be zero-emission vehicles. The votes demonstrate how California, a titan of clean air policy, has become increasingly ambitious in its quest to curtail pollution from the transportation sector and eventually zero out the state’s carbon footprint. The rules are estimated to prevent more than 5,000 premature deaths by 2050, decrease cancer risk near rail yards by 90% and bring nearly $60 billion in health benefits statewide. Taken together, the two rules are expected to bring tremendous relief to such communities as Long Beach and San Bernardino, which have been besieged by diesel exhaust and smog-forming emissions from heavy truck traffic and trains.
We all know there’s a lot of challenges, but those challenges aren’t going to be tackled unless we move forward.” “And I’m so proud to be here with my colleagues to work on this and advance this forward.
“This is an absolutely transformative rule to clean our air and mitigate climate change,” said Liane Randoph, chair of the state Air Resources Board. Arguably the most notable provision will require all cargo trucks entering California seaports and rail yards to be zero-emission by 2035. In a second vote Friday, the board enacted a rule that will accelerate the adoption of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in all public and many large private fleets - a regulation that will necessitate more than 1 million new electric freight trucks, school buses and delivery vehicles over the next 25 years.
#CUBE WORLD PORT UPGRADE#
In a marathon two-day hearing, perhaps the most consequential session of the year, the California Air Resources Board voted to set an age limit to retire old locomotives while establishing a regulatory framework that requires operators to set aside money to upgrade to cleaner engines and eventually zero-emission powertrains. California air regulators have adopted two landmark rules setting aggressive zero-emission requirements for fleets of heavier vehicles and locomotives, a move expected to drastically cut pollution near ports and rail yards and alter the way goods move through the American West.
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