For months, Evergreen and its allies, and dozens of members of Congress have been clear: Decarbonize the trucking industry is possible and necessary because combustion trucks are poisoning communities around the country. Smart investments in the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Law funds can jumpstart the charging infrastructure the U.S. needs, contrary to the insistence on delay from big players like Volvo and Daimler.
Today, the nonpartisan expert International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has the receipts. In a major analysis, published today, Deploy Charging Infrastructure in ‘No Regrets’ Freight Zones and Corridors to Keep U.S. Commercial Truck Electrification Aligned With Climate Goals, ICCT shows that the U.S. can electrify far more of the trucking fleet than EPA has proposed with focused infrastructure investments in the biggest ports and trucking corridors. As EPA’s proposed rule goes to the White House for review soon, it is time for the administration to follow that road map and get the job done.
The report details the importance of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) charging infrastructure strategy that prioritizes hot spot zones and opens up a viable pathway for cleaning up our roadways. ICCT’s latest report also provides mapping resources that help underscore priority corridors for electrifying long-haul truck activity in 2030 in line with international climate goals. It turns out that infrastructure deployed on less than 10 percent of the highway network would get almost double the electrification that the EPA’s proposal forecasts. That means America can charge forward to protect communities with strong standards and smart investments, and that industry’s bluster on infrastructure is just plain wrong.
Dive in more by reading ICCT’s full report and viewing mapping resources here.
“We’ve known Volvo, Daimler, and their industry allies are full of it, and here’s the proof. We can actually build out the electric supply chain we need if EPA leads—it’s time we put pedal to the metal to clean up our roadways and protect frontline communities,” said Evergreen Action Vice President Craig Segall. “ICCT’s report simply proves what we already know: We are able and ready to build the infrastructure necessary to electrify our trucking fleets now. The hard facts of this report show that industry should stop padding their profits while ignoring the childhood asthma, heart attacks, and strokes their exhaust causes. President Biden and Administrator Regan have committed to protect communities. They must set aside this industry-driven nonsense and zero in on building electrified corridors along the busiest parts of our roadways so that we can deliver clean trucking fleets once and for all.”
Evergreen Action previously released, What’s Holding the Biden Administration Back from Cleaning Up Pollution in Port and Freight Communities?, detailing how the Biden administration has one of its biggest opportunities to advance environmental justice and tackle climate pollution in one go by strengthening the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed heavy-duty vehicle rule (also called the “Phase 3” rule). The rule puts a cap on how much greenhouse gas pollution heavy-duty vehicles—like delivery trucks, school buses, and large motor homes—can emit and would apply to heavy-duty vehicles sold in 2027 and beyond.
Read the full piece here.
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