Stronger Emissions Standards Announced for Heavy-Duty Vehicles
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, U.S. Senator Tom Carper, joined U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan, as well as clean air and labor leaders in announcing new standards to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from heavy-duty vehicles. This would start in the 2027 model year. Sen. Carper has secured significant investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to further reduce emissions from heavy-duty vehicles and accelerate the transition to zero-emission technology, including:
- $5 billion for clean school buses
- $3 billion for reducing air pollution and emissions around our nation’s ports
- $1 billion for cleaner medium- and heavy-duty vehicles
- $60 million for the Diesel Emission Reduction Act program for goods movement facilities in low-income and disadvantaged communities
Additional information from Sen Carper’s news release:
By 2045, EPA estimates that the final action will reduce NOx emissions from the heavy-duty truck fleet by 48 percent and provide widespread air quality improvements across the U.S., especially in areas already overburdened by air pollution and diesel emissions. The benefits of the rule will exceed its costs by billions of dollars. EPA estimates that by 2045 the most ambitious option outlined in today’s proposal would result in the following annual benefits:
- Up to 2,900 fewer premature deaths
- 6,700 fewer hospital admissions and emergency department visits
- 18,000 fewer cases of asthma onset in children
- 78,000 fewer lost days of work
- 1.1 million fewer lost school days
