Press Release

杏吧传媒 Warns Congress Against Allowing California to Set National Emissions Rules

Feb 15, 2023

Washington 鈥 Today, 杏吧传媒 President and CEO Chris Spear told Congress that the industry needed realistic national timelines and targets to reduce emissions, rather than allowing California and other states to drive standards.

鈥淭he trucking industry starts with 鈥榶es,鈥" . 鈥溞影纱 worked with the Environmental Protection Agency, producing Phases I and II emission reduction rules, as well as the SmartWay Transport Partnership 鈥 which has been a model of public-private cooperation. To date, 98.5% of all emissions have been removed from our tailpipes. In fact, 60 trucks today emit what one truck emitted in 1988.鈥

Spear emphasized that those gains, which include reductions of millions of tons of carbon, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions, were the result of collaborative regulatory processes and realistic goals.

鈥淭his is not a debate about if we get to zero, but when. We鈥檒l get there, just not on the timelines proposed by California. By excluding our industry in a mad dash to zero makes their timeline and targets not only unachievable鈥 but guarantees they will fail,鈥 Spear said. 鈥淭o get to zero, we must be honest and transparent about the road ahead. Sourcing rare minerals needed for millions of 5,000 pounds of truck batteries, the infrastructure needed to charge them and the additional electricity needed to power our trucks 鈥 full scale 鈥 doesn鈥檛 yet exist鈥 and won鈥檛 if you allow California to set the nation鈥檚 standard.鈥

If California鈥檚 proposals are allowed to set targets and timelines for emissions reductions, Spear said it will certainly impact the industry and the supply chain 鈥 and Americans will feel those disruptions.

鈥淥ver the next decade, trucks will be tasked with moving 2.4 billion more tons of freight than they do today. The moment that slows or stops, Americans, your constituents, will want answers,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he responsible approach is also the realistic approach. Achievable timelines and targets matter. We鈥檙e committed to a cleaner environment 鈥 we鈥檝e proven that. 聽We simply ask that we be realistic about the path forward. 聽Do that, and we鈥檒l post the best environmental gains possible.鈥

Spear's full written testimony is available .