www.cnbc.com/2023/03/31/california-requires-half-of-heavy-trucks-sales-to-be-electric-by-2035.html
The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday said it’s granting California the legal authority to require that half of all heavy-duty truck sales in the state be fully electric by 2035, an ambitious standard that will go beyond federal requirements.
The Biden administration’s approval of California’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Regulation comes after the state last year banned the sale of new gasoline-powered cars starting in the same target year of 2035.
The two decisions make California, the country’s most populous state and center of U.S. car culture, a leader in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, which generates most of the country’s greenhouse gases.
The California Air Resources Board had sought waivers from the Clean Air Act to set stricter standards for heavy-duty vehicles such as garbage trucks, delivery vans and tractor-trailers. The approval of the new rule will likely have greater impacts beyond California and pave the way for other states to follow suit.
California, which has committed to achieving 100% renewable energy by 2045, has considerable authority over the country’s auto industry. For instance, a federal waiver under the Clean Air Act gives the state authority to adopt stronger fuel economy standards than those of the federal government, which has set the precedent for the rest of the U.S. on how to address vehicle emissions.