USPS is planning to buy 40% EVs in their new fleet; now let’s continue to push them towards 100%
Dear ,
Big news in our fight to push the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to go green. After fighting for months and filing a joint lawsuit with our allies, our advocacy made USPS redress its flawed, environmentally indefensible, and likely illegal plan to purchase a new fleet of gas-guzzling delivery trucks. USPS has now announced plans to purchase at least 40% electric vehicles (EVs) in their next generation of delivery trucks. This is a remarkable improvement from their original plan to purchase 90% internal combustion vehicles.
Investing in more electric vehicles will deliver cost savings for USPS, cleaner air for communities across the nation, and less carbon pollution to help tackle the climate crisis. It will go a long way in the fight to preserve our planet for future generations.
However, our fight isn't over yet. While this change is a step in the right direction, it's not nearly enough. We're running out of time to stave off the worst impacts of climate change, and President Biden has directed the federal government to transition to 100% zero-emissions vehicles by 2035.
We need to continue to ramp up the pressure on USPS to commit to 100% EVs.
Additionally, USPS is still allowing Oshkosh to move production of these vehicles from a union facility in Wisconsin to a brand-new facility in South Carolina where it will be very difficult for workers to organize. Federal dollars should be supporting both clean vehicles and high-quality jobs when building them.
With the massive news earlier this week of a groundbreaking Senate deal on a budget reconciliation package that could dramatically ramp up clean energy investments and cut climate-busting greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40 percent by 2030, momentum is back on our side. Now, we must double down on this historic moment and continue to ramp up pressure to make climate progress everywhere we can—including with USPS.
Even if you already made your voice heard, please consider submitting another public comment, and make sure to tell your friends and family to do the same.
For more details on this campaign, please see my colleague Britt Carmon's email below.
Thank you for continuing to fight with us.
Sincerely,
Marc Boom
Director of Federal Affairs, NRDC
USPS Has a Second Chance to Go Green and We Can't Let It Pass Us By
After NRDC and our allies submitted 500,000 petitions and filed a joint lawsuit, the U.S. Postal Service has a new chance to redress its flawed plan to purchase a new fleet of gas-guzzling trucks. Submit a public comment NOW imploring USPS to do the right thing and go 100% electric — before the July 25 comment deadline:
We're at a turning point in our fight to stop the USPS from purchasing a new fleet of mostly antiquated gas-guzzling delivery trucks — and we need your help.
USPS is still trying to lock us into more carbon pollution for decades to come — but now there's a new chance to slam the brakes on their dangerous scheme.
Earlier this year, NRDC and our allies delivered over 500,000 messages {from supporters like you and filed a joint lawsuit to stop the United States Postal Service (USPS) from moving forward with its illegal, anti-environment plan — the brainchild of none other than Trump-era appointee Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
Thanks to our advocacy, USPS will now conduct a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to assess the true costs of their plan.
That means we have another chance to submit public comments imploring them to do what's best for the planet and transition to a fleet of 100% electric vehicles (EVs).
President Biden has directed the federal government to transition to 100% zero-emissions vehicles by 2035. Yet, the USPS plan would force through an $11.3 billion expenditure for trucks that will be on the road for decades spewing out carbon pollution, continuing air pollution in communities already burdened by dirty air, and pushing us closer to the brink of climate catastrophe — all while blatantly flouting the President's deadline.
USPS operates THE largest fleet of government vehicles in the country, with nearly 250,000 trucks in service. According to their own analysis, the new USPS fleet would use almost 110 million gallons of gas per year and average less than 9 miles per gallon. But that original proposal relied on faulty data — assuming gas prices would be under $3 in 2040 — and a flawed environmental analysis that significantly underestimated the plan's climate and community impacts.
Switching to EVs could allow USPS vehicles to get the equivalent of over 100 miles per gallon. One study found that the USPS would save over $4 billion in potential fuel and maintenance savings from electric vehicles — a fact not lost on the rest of the delivery industry. Amazon, UPS, FedEx, and DHL have all made significant investments and commitments to electrify their fleets.
We must transition to a 100% clean energy future as soon as possible in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change. We can't afford to let USPS, or any other government agency, stall out in the past.
And it's even more urgent that we act now to slash carbon pollution given the recent devastating West Virginia v. EPA Supreme Court ruling that narrows the EPA's ability to limit climate-busting carbon emissions from power plants. This ratchets up the pressure to tackle climate change anywhere and everywhere we can.
Together, we've already made our voices heard in defense of our clean energy future — and pressured USPS to amend their plan. I know we can do it again.
Britt Carmon
Senior Advocate, Federal Clean Vehicles & Fuels, NRDC
The mission of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is to safeguard the Earth: its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.
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