ATA President and CEO Chris Spear testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today, saying the trucking industry needed realistic national timelines and targets to reduce emissions rather than allowing California and other states to drive standards. He added that ATA has worked with the EPA, producing Phases I and II emission reduction rules and the SmartWay Transport Partnership. In the last 30 years, 98.5% of emissions have been removed from truck tailpipes, and 60 trucks now emit what one truck emitted in 1988.
Spear emphasized that emissions reductions of millions of tons of carbon, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter resulted from collaborative regulatory processes and realistic goals. “This is not a debate about if we get to zero, but when. We’ll get there, just not on the timelines proposed by California – to get to zero; we must be honest and transparent about the road ahead. Sourcing rare minerals needed for 5,000-pound truck batteries, the infrastructure to charge them, and the additional electricity needed for full-scale trucks don’t exist… and won’t if California sets the nation’s standard.”
If California’s proposals are allowed to set targets and timelines for emissions reductions, Spear said it would certainly impact the industry and the supply chain, and Americans will feel those disruptions. “Over the next decade, trucks will be tasked with moving 2.4 billion more tons of freight than they do today. ” Americans, your constituents, will want answers the moment that slows or stops,” he said. “We’re committed to a cleaner environment – we’ve proven that. We ask that we be realistic about the path forward. Do that, and we’ll post the best environmental gains possible.”
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