America's Trucking Industry May Become a Bit Less Dirty

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The US government proposed on Friday new rules to limit emissions from big, heavy-duty trucks and long-haul tractor trailers — a move that underscored the Obama administration's commitment towards fighting climate change.

The new emission standards would apply to a wide range of vehicles, from the largest pickup trucks and vans to semi-trucks, as well as trailers, and would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 1 billion metric tons and conserve about 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles sold, according to the joint guidelines from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The proposed rules hold the potential to significantly cut US emissions: The transportation sector is the second largest contributor, accounting for about 27 percent of the nation's carbon pollution. Yet, the trucking industry is weary of the costs of implementing the proposed rules, which the public has 30 days in which to submit comments, but it also sees potential savings in improved fuel efficiency.

"In 2014, trucking spent nearly $150 billion on diesel fuel alone," Glen Kedzie, a vice president of the American Trucking Associations, told the Wall Street Journal. "So the potential for real cost savings and associated environmental benefits of this rule are there."

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Under the new rules, the industry could save $170 billion in fuel costs from 2018 to 2027.

Big trucks and vans represent about 15 percent of the fuel consumption and greenhouse emissions from the heavy- and medium-duty vehicle sector, the two agencies said in their proposed guidelines that include two broad categories of emission standards for big trucks — for the tractor unit of large semi-trailers and for the trailer.

The tractor standard would require that a truck built in 2021 and beyond be 24 percent more fuel efficient and emit 24 percent less carbon dioxide than a truck built in 2018. Similarly, the regulations for tractors aim to save an additional 8 percent in fuel and carbon emissions, compared with a similar trailer built in 2017, the EPA said.

However, some in the industry expressed concerns that the new rules can lead to development of unreliable technologies.

The National Automobile Dealers Association, which includes a subgroup of the American Truck Dealers, told the Wall Street Journal that the cost to make a truck more fuel-efficient, which the EPA estimated to be as much as $12,000 per truck, was "based on potentially untested technologies" and was a "great risk to a still-fragile economy."

Robbie Diamond, President and CEO of Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE), praised the proposed rule for its potential to ween the US transportation sector from its reliance on oil imports.

"This rule is the product of a collaborative process, and we are pleased to see NHTSA and EPA taking positive steps to increase American energy security," said Diamond. "Today, the US transportation sector relies on oil for 92 percent of its fuel, a virtual monopoly that ties us to a volatile, cartel-influenced global oil market. SAFE looks forward to reviewing the rule in more detail and sharing comments with the administration, including ways to accelerate the deployment of alternative fuels."

Environmental groups welcomed the proposal.

"Anyone who's ever been stuck behind a truck or bus knows how much they pollute," Travis Madsen of Environment America said, according to the Associated Press. "Making trucks go farther on a gallon of fuel can curb pollution, help save the planet and save money."

The administration expects to finalize the rules early next year.

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