Clean Freight Coalition blasts effort pressuring EPA to implement California’s destructive emissions regulations

Clean Freight Coalition (CFC) Executive Director Jim Mullen issued the following statement regarding the Democrat-led congressional letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan. The letter encouraged the agency to adopt California’s regulations as the nation’s standards, a more stringent Heavy-Duty Greenhouse Gas Phase 3 (GHG 3) regulation mirroring California’s standards:

“The Clean Freight Coalition remains concerned that lawmakers and regulators continue to pursue a regulatory agenda that follows California’s mandates that will upend the nation’s supply chain while ignoring immediate, scalable solutions for reducing carbon emissions from existing and future fleets. It is disappointing that certain Members of Congress are pushing a one-size-fits-all environmental agenda that fails to understand the mass diversification of the commercial vehicle industry. Setting regulatory requirements relying on technologies that are either in early demonstration phases or not fully developed, and yet to be tested and validated in the various unique real-world applications will disrupt the nation’s freight network.

"Congress and regulators should pursue policies that will provide immediate emission reductions, allowing zero-emission technologies to mature and the supporting infrastructure to be built out. As examples, repealing the federal excise tax would incentivize truckers to refresh their fleets with modern greener and safer technologies, and policymakers should promote and incentivize readily available low-carbon fuel options, such as biodiesel and renewable diesel.

"The letter to Administrator Regan references an agreement between the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the engine manufacturers as support for the unattainable regulations which promises manufacturers’ efforts to meet certain CARB regulations. This agreement is essentially irrelevant to achieving a decarbonized future. Without reliable power, fleets will be left with the options to purchase equipment that does not meet their performance needs or to hold onto their diesel equipment longer, negating the expected emissions reductions that California and EPA are expecting.

"The CFC and its members will continue to utilize decades of real-life experience across the trucking ecosystem offering solutions that make an immediate improvement to the environment. We will continue to advocate for sound public policies that provide a rational, sustainable, and affordable transition to zero-emission trucks. The stakes are too high to base the strategy on hope."