Trucking news and briefs for Friday, July 28, 2023:
Leaders from the Clean Freight Coalition (CFC) on Wednesday met with officials from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to discuss the challenges and opportunities of transitioning the nation's commercial truck fleet to low- and zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).
The first meeting between CFC and the Joint Office occurred as emerging state and federal regulations aim to push the transportation sector toward decarbonization, CFC said.
The Joint Office was created through the 2021 infrastructure legislation to facilitate collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Transportation on deploying a network of electric vehicle chargers and other low-carbon fueling infrastructure. An alliance of freight transportation stakeholders committed to reducing emissions substantially, the CFC launched in March to educate policymakers on these issues.
During this week’s meeting, CFC urged the Joint Office to consider the heavy-duty sector when granting federal funds. CFC cited a massive infrastructure gap as one of the largest hurdles to a transition away from carbon-based fuels -- one that policymakers need to focus on now, CFC noted.
"One of the fatal flaws in California's electric-truck mandates is that the infrastructure buildout is lightyears behind the hyper-aggressive timelines set forth in regulation," said CFC Executive Director Jim Mullen. "By trying to force the trucking industry to electrify without the charging infrastructure and power capacity that will be required, the state is setting trucking and the supply chain up for failure. That's why in our meeting with the Joint Office today we stressed why EPA should not propose ZEV-dependent rules prior to ensuring the necessary resources are actually in place."
The CFC also met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to discuss concerns over EPA’s Phase 3 Greenhouse Gas rulemaking and to urge repeal of the federal excise tax, which would provide dramatic and immediate emissions reductions by helping turnover the nations aging truck fleet with today’s cleaner and safer models.
