California Can Set the Pace for the Country With a Strong Electric Truck Sales Standard

Statement by Jimmy O’Dea, Senior Vehicles Analyst, Union of Concerned Scientists

Published Dec 13, 2019

OAKLAND, Calif. (December 13, 2019)—Yesterday, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) considered a draft proposal for the first electric truck sales standard in the country. CARB received more than 19,000 written comments from Californians in favor of a stronger standard. After hearing from more than 100 community members and activists who attended the meeting and more than 120 scientists and public health experts across the country who signed a public letter asking the board to strengthen the proposal, the board instructed staff to revise the standard so it would electrify more trucks faster than originally proposed.

Trucks and buses combined make up 10 percent of all vehicles on the road and 28 percent of all carbon emissions from the U.S. transportation sector. There are about 28 million trucks and buses in the United States and nearly 2 million in California. Heavy-duty vehicles emit 45 percent of the U.S. transportation sector’s nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution and 57 percent of its fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution, which disproportionately affects communities of color and low-income communities due to proximity to roads and heavy vehicular traffic. Electric trucks do not emit any NOx or PM2.5 pollution during vehicle operation.

According to a Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analysis, electric trucks in California emit 68 to 88 percent less life cycle global warming emissions than similar diesel trucks, depending on the type of vehicle. For California to reach its climate and air quality goals, it must get as close as possible to adopting zero-emission technology in the entire freight sector by 2045.

Below is a statement by Jimmy O’Dea, senior vehicles analyst at UCS. O’Dea is a clean vehicles, freight technology and transportation policy expert.

“Yesterday, CARB and policymakers across the state responded to Californians demanding action on carbon emissions and air pollution from trucks. Thousands of Californians agree we have to find a way to move from diesel to electric as fast as we can.

“A lot needs to be done for California to achieve its air quality and climate targets. UCS will work with CARB staff to make the sales standard as strong as possible because it is a critical policy for transitioning the truck and bus industry to zero-emission technology. To achieve carbon neutrality in the next 25 years, we have to get as close as possible to 100 percent zero-emission trucks and buses.

“Along with a strong sales standard for manufacturers, we’ll need financial incentives to kickstart the purchase of electric trucks, continued and streamlined investments in charging infrastructure, fair and reasonable electric rates for truck charging, and purchasing standards for private and public fleets.”

O’Dea’s reports and analyses include “Delivering Opportunity: How Electric Buses and Trucks Can Create Jobs and Improve Public Health in California,” “The Promises and Limits of Biomethane as a Transportation Fuel” and most recently, “Ready to Work: Now Is the Time for Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicles.” His scientific research previously focused on new materials for hydrogen fuel cells.