DOT, EPA issue final rules for heavy-duty trucks greenhouse gas and fuel
efficiency standards
The United States Environmental Protection
Agency and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration announced their jointly finalized standards for medium- and
heavy-duty vehicles that will augment fuel efficiency and reduce carbon
pollution.
This final rulemaking marks the culmination
of standards rolled out in June 2015 by the DOT and EPA. And it also leverages
the current fuel efficiency and GHG standards in place for model years
2014-2018, which DOT and EPA said will result in 270 million metric tons in CO2
emissions reductions and reduce vehicle owners fuel costs by more than $50
billion. The first round of these truck standards covered model year 2014 and
2015 trucks.
DOT and EPA said that the final phase two
standards were called for by President Obama’s Climate Action Plan in response
to the President’s 2014 directive to develop new standards into the next
decade.
And the agencies added that this final phase
two program promotes a new generation of cleaner, more fuel efficient trucks by
encouraging the wider application of currently available technologies and the
development of new and advanced cost-effective technologies through model year
2027. The final standards are expected to lower CO2 emissions by approximately
1.1 billion metric tons, save vehicle owners fuel costs of about $170 billion,
and reduce oil consumption by up to two billion barrels over the lifetime of
the vehicles sold under the program. The final standards are cost effective for
both consumers and businesses, delivering favorable payback periods for truck
owners, they said, adding that the buyer of a new long-haul truck in 2027 would
recoup the investment in fuel-efficient technology in less than two years
through fuel savings.
“The actions we take today on climate change
will help lessen the impacts on future generations,” said EPA Administrator
Gina McCarthy. “This next phase of standards for heavy and medium duty vehicles
will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while driving innovation,
and will ensure that the United States continues to lead the world in
developing fuel efficient technologies through the next decade and
beyond.”
This rulemaking has a sharp freight
transportation and supply chain focus, considering that heavy-duty trucks
represent the second largest segment and collectively account for the largest
increase in U.S. transportation in terms of emissions and energy use, said DOT
and EPA. What’s more, they added that globally GHG emissions from heavy-duty vehicles
are growing at a quick clip and expected to surpass emissions from passenger
vehicles in 2030.
These vehicle and engine performance
standards would cover model years 2021-2027 for semi-trucks, large pickup
trucks, and work trucks, among other vehicles. And when the standards are fully
phased in, DOT and EPA said tractors in a tractor trailer, as an example, will
see up to 25 percent lower CO2 emissions and fuel consumption compared to an
equivalent tractor in 2018.
“This is a good rule for all entities
involved,” said Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Senior Manager, Supply Chain
Logistics Jason Mathers. “For trucking companies, it provides the
certainty of long-term standards in knowing their trucks will get more
efficient over the next decade-plus. That is important, given that the
standards will drive manufacturers to invest and build better quality products
that will ultimately drive savings for truckers.”
On the shipper side, he said that this ruling
is a clear win in that these standards will drive total cost of ownership
savings that will come in the form of lower fuel usage and lower fuel
surcharges, too, which he called a big win for them.
“For large consumer brand companies, we think
this could result in several hundred millions in savings per year,” he said.
Extract
taken from http://goo.gl/S5755I
By Jeff Berman
