FILE - Motor vehicle traffic moves along the Interstate 76 highway in Philadelphia, March 31, 2021. The EPA on Friday, March 29, 2024, set new greenhouse gas emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks, buses and other large vehicles, an action that officials said will clean up some of the nation’s largest sources of planet-warming pollution. FILE - A tanker truck transports crude oil on a highway near Duchesne, Utah on July 13, 2023.
. Those rules relax initial tailpipe limits proposed last year but get close to the same strict standards set out by the EPA for model year 2032. “Our Clean Trucks plan works in tandem with President Biden’s unprecedented investments in America and delivers on this administration’s commitment to tackling climate change while advancing environmental justice,’' Regan said.
The new limits lower zero-emission sales rates proposed for the 2027 through 2029 model years but require higher sales later, resulting in a practical mandate for electric and hydrogen-powered trucks, the trucking associations said in a statement. The EPA rule limits choices for trucks and buses to unproven technology, the group said.
Regan said the EPA crafted the limits to give truck owners a choice of powertrains including advanced combustion vehicles, hybrids and electric and hydrogen fuel cells.