US Approves California's Mandate Requiring Half of Heavy Trucks be Electric by 2035

The Biden administration approved California's regulation to require all heavy trucks sold in the state must be all-electric by 2035, which is an effort to clean up the worst polluters on the road. This mandate will take effect next year.

Advanced Clean Trucks

California was granted today by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), approving the state's plans to require half of all trucks sold by 2035 to be electricity in an effort to cut pollution. This will include garbage trucks, tractor-trailers, cement mixers, and other heavy vehicles on the road, sought by the California Air Resources Board.

By 2035, Engadget reported that the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulation will require the state's 55% of delivery vans and small trucks to be entirely electric. Meanwhile, 40% of tractor-trailers and 75% of buses and larger trucks must also be electric by the same year.

California Governor Gavin Newsom stated that this mandate can start a change in the nation. "There's a power in these waivers and that power is emulation. We adopt through these waivers the principles and policies that lead to innovation and investment," he noted.

This regulation would push the state to be at the front of the race of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from transportation which is considered the most greenhouse gases generate. It will bring a huge impact, knowing that California is the world's fifth-largest maker economy and has tremendous market muscle.

California's Impact

The state's aggressive plan goes beyond federal requirements, which comes after the regulation passed by California last year that requires all new passenger vehicles sold in the state to be electric by the same year.

Other states or institutions may follow these regulations from the state and can force changes throughout the automotive industry. As per The New York Times, six other states already adopted the heavy truck regulation but had been waiting for the federal government's approval. These states are New York, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

According to California Air Resources Board, this mandate will curb climate pollution by nearly three million metric tons each year when 2040 comes. Reuters reported that heavy trucks represent one-third of the state's nitrogen oxide and more than one-quarter of its pollution from diesel fuel.

Earthjustice's Right to Zero Campaign Director Paul Cort said in a statement that "California has been hard at work passing landmark regulations to clean our air and protect our climate with zero emissions vehicles, so we're heartened to see EPA stand with California today and grant this waive.

While this news pleased a lot of environmental groups, CNBC reported that some of the country's major truck manufacturers and lobbying groups have argued that the requirements to sell a percentage of electric heavy trucks are difficult when it comes to cost and implementation.

The Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (TEMA) stated that these standards would increase the cost of trucks and result in delaying decisions to purchase new vehicles in the future. TEMA is an industry group that represents manufacturers of trucks and buses.