In recent years, California has pursued an accelerated shift to green by encouraging consumers to make the switch from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles. The government of California hopes to eventually decarbonise its medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles to improve the state’s air quality and help tackle the effects of climate change. However, following significant opposition from the truck industry and the federal government, achieving this aim now appears increasingly unlikely.
California’s medium- and heavy-duty vehicles make up just 6 percent of the vehicles registered with the state’s DMV; however, they contribute more than 20 percent of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, decarbonising the fleet would help improve air pollution as well as decrease the negative effects of this form of pollution on environmental and human health.
The government of California introduced a comprehensive statewide strategy to reduce transportation emissions, which included the aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. Governor Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order N-79-20 states the target of transitioning to a 100 percent zero-emissions drayage truck and off-road equipment population by 2035 and a 100 percent zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleet by 2045, where feasible. The targets align with the air quality standard objectives stated in the 2022 State Implementation Plan Strategy.
While the cost of electric trucks is higher than that of equivalent ICE vehicles, the government expects the price of these vehicles to fall as uptake increases and production costs decrease. In addition, the State of California has introduced a range of incentives for purchasing zero-emission vehicles in recent years to encourage uptake. For example, the California Energy Commission launched a $50 million multi-year EnergIIZE programme, which provides incentive funds for the infrastructure needs of the companies and public agencies that plan to use zero-emission vehicles.
Several state agencies have introduced ambitious transport decarbonisation aims in recent years, which have made a transition to electric seem increasingly more achievable. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has established several zero-emission regulatory requirements and incentive programmes, such as the Innovative Clean Transit regulation, which requires a phase-in of zero-emission bus purchases to achieve 100 percent zero-emission fleets by all public transit agencies by 2040.
However, California’s electrification aims have often been at odds with those of the federal government, which has not generally supported the state’s decarbonisation efforts for the transport sector. In addition, the truck industry has been staunchly opposed to the transition, and, under the President Trump administration, achieving its clean transport targets has become even more difficult.
At the beginning of the year, California hoped to receive a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enforce its new Advanced Clean Fleets regulation, but the change in administration meant this was not achieved. Although CARB introduced new rules on zero-emission trucks at the end of last year, it needed a waiver to enforce these new rules. The board eventually decided to withdraw its request for a waiver after Trump came into power in January, effectively putting a stop to the new regulation. This decision responded to Trump’s electoral pledge to reverse vehicle emission regulations enacted during Biden’s presidency.
Then, in September, CARB voted to repeal its zero-emission purchasing rule for private fleets, thereby halting its mandate for the accelerated electrification of the state’s trucking sector. This decision came just shortly after State Governor Newsom discussed California’s great potential as an EV power during Climate Week. CARB was unable to secure the waiver it needed before President Biden left office, and it became increasingly clear in the following months that it would not receive such a waiver under the Trump administration. Strong lobbying efforts by both republicans and the trucking sector eventually upended California’s strategy.
Some suggest that improved incentives could encourage truck companies to make the switch, even without the new regulations in place. Matt LeDucq, the CEO of Forum Mobility, which is developing heavy-duty charging stations near West Coast ports, said, “It’s up to us to show that electrification is going to be a great thing… [that it’s] not something you have to do, but something that you want to do.”
Meanwhile, Nick Chiappe, the California Trucking Association’s director of government and regulatory affairs, said, “Incentives are a powerful tool to encourage and advance the adoption of ZEVs for use cases where it is feasible.” Chiappe said that trucking companies and other transit companies rapidly took up the $200 million in incentives for electric trucks and buses after they were launched in September. “The demand for this equipment is there, with or without mandates,” said Chiappe. However, due to the ongoing budget deficits, the introduction of more far-reaching incentives may not be possible.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com
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