California Reduces Emissions from Big-Rig Trucks
After months of pressure by UCS, our supporters, and a statewide coalition of health, environmental, and community groups, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted in December 2008 to pass two new rules that will dramatically reduce toxic emissions and global warming pollution from big-rig trucks that operate in the state.
CARB's first proposal will boost fuel efficiency in heavy-duty trucks to reduce their global warming emissions. The main target is the most common type of truck on the highway: a 53-foot-long trailer pulled by a large tractor. The rule will save 1 billion gallons of diesel fuel annually across the country in 2020, and up-front costs of installing fuel efficient technology on tractors and trailers will be offset by reduced fuel costs over time.
CARB's second proposed rule, controlling smog-forming emissions and particulate matter, targets all diesel-fueled heavy-duty trucks operating on California's roads, including typical big-rig trucks and school buses. CARB estimates the rule will prevent 9,400 premature deaths and thousands of hospitalizations for heart and lung disease associated with poor air quality over the next 15 years and will save tens of billions in health care costs.
In the months leading up to the ruling, UCS Senior Vehicles Analyst Don Anair authored a report analyzing the potential for reducing fuel use and global warming pollution from trucks as well as a series of fact sheets on both rules. Anair also briefed CARB staff and board members on his findings and testified at the agency's public hearing on the rules. At the request of UCS, a number of prominent scientists and physicians sent a letter to CARB urging the board to adopt the rules. In addition, UCS activists collected hundreds of signed postcards to CARB and widely circulated our online petition, resulting in nearly 7,000 signatures in support of the rules.
Despite the landmark improvements in the new truck rules, there is still work to be done. UCS analysis shows there is much more to do to improve the fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks. UCS experts will explore options for seeking greater reductions in the pollution that causes global warming, while at the same, working to ensure that the diesel standards to protect public health are effectively implemented without delay.
