By Todd Mouw, president of ROUSH CleanTech
In June, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) unanimously approved the Advanced Clean Truck Regulation. This bold step will accelerate California’s transition to zero-emissions in all commercial fleet sectors. It’s a historic and ambitious goal, and achieving it will be challenging.
The Advanced Clean Truck Regulation is a holistic approach to transition away from medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles to electric zero-emissions vehicles beginning in 2024.
The environmental goals are lofty. California faces challenging mandates to reduce air pollutants to protect public health and to meet state climate change targets. The mandates include:
• Meeting certain goals like federal health-based ambient air quality standards.
• Reducing greenhouse gases 40% by 2030, then 80% by 2050.
• Cutting petroleum use in half by 2030.
The regulation’s projected economic benefits are substantial. The state expects to see $8.9 billion in health savings from 2020 to 2040, with $282 million added to state GDP by 2040. It also projects $1.7 billion in avoided carbon dioxide emission and $5.9 billion in industry savings by 2040.
In the coming months, CARB will release complementary regulations. One of these supporting actions will set a new limit on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. During the transition to electric trucks, it requires new trucks still operating on fossil fuels to include the most effective exhaust control technology like ROUSH CleanTech’s 0.02g ultra-low NOx propane engine.
If you’re not in the Golden State, why should you care? Traditionally, many other states closely monitor California regulations and adopt some version of the same rules and regulations. In fact, 15 states and Washington, D.C., have already signed an MOU to accelerate bus and truck electrification.
The future has never been brighter as companies leverage even more capabilities to respond to customer demands, solve global challenges, and meet current and future regulations.
To learn more about ROUSH CleanTech’s advanced clean transportation solutions, please visit ROUSHcleantech.com.
Todd Mouw is president of ROUSH CleanTech, an industry leader of advanced clean vehicle technology. Mouw has more than two decades of experience in the automotive and high-tech industries. As former president of the NTEA Green Truck Association, Mouw helped set standards in the green trucking industry. To learn more, visit ROUSHcleantech.com.