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| Dear Friend, |
| Clean air, zero-emissions vehicles, and clear skies. That’s the future state air quality regulators have been building with key new standards to transition us away from dirty combustion and towards zero-emissions everything. That includes new regulations that set meaningful targets to get us to zero-emissions big rigs, trains, ferries, and cars. These are life-saving regulations from states that can bring big wins for our climate and the air we all breathe. |
| The only catch? We need the EPA to issue final approvals for these regulations to allow states like yours to adopt them. |
| Help us tell EPA that you want to see the agency give the green light to life-saving regulations. |
| Nearly 60 years ago, Congress preserved California’s explicit authority to adopt standards that are more protective than the federal government’s in order to protect California residents from vehicle pollution and to continue to lead in the area of vehicle pollution control innovation. The Clean Air Act directs the EPA to review California standards and to waive federal preemption if the standards meet minimum requirements. After the EPA grants a waiver for one of these new standards, other states can then adopt them for the health of their own residents. |
| The EPA should quickly sign the waivers for four life-saving transportation standards that can be adopted by states from coast to coast. |
- Wave Goodbye to Big Rig Pollution
The Advanced Clean Fleets rule shifts all truck sales to zero emissions by 2036. While medium and heavy-duty trucks are just 10% of the vehicles on U.S. roads, they pump out 25% of the greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, the nation’s most polluting sector. The new standard is a companion rule to California’s first zero emissions trucks rule, which has already been adopted in New York, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Colorado.
- The Electric Train Era
This standard is a first-of-its kind regulation to shift locomotives operating in the state to zero emissions, cleaning up tons of NOx emissions, a main ingredient in smog.
- Electrifying Everything on Water too
California’s big thinking in the race to electrify everything has turned to tugboats, ferries, and commercial fishing boats that often emit heavy doses of diesel pollution in portside communities. The Commercial Harbor Craft rule is estimated to prevent 531 premature deaths in California alone.
- 100% Zero-Emissions Car Sales
California set a goal of 100% zero emissions car sales with the ACC II rule, which requires auto manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of EVs over time and sets a 35 percent sales requirement in 2026, ramping up to a 100 percent sales target in 2035. The standard is expected to deliver $12 billion in health benefits in California alone over its lifetime by cutting premature deaths, hospitalizations, and lost workdays linked to polluted air. Those health benefits will only multiply with 12 states like New York, Virginia, Washington, and New Mexico lining up to adopt the rule to clean their air.
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| In the face of gridlock in Congress, this is an easy win for the EPA and the Biden administration. California has already developed the regulations and states are eager to adopt them on their own — all the EPA needs to do is grant states the green light to proceed. It’s a win-win-win for the EPA, states, and our lungs. |
| Urge the EPA to permit these regulations to move forward. |
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Sincerely,
Athena Motavvef
Legislative Representative |
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| Photo Credits: An illustration of diesel trucks hauling oversized inhalers.(Hannah Rothstein for Earthjustice) |
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