California to Truckers: No More Diesel

(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – The state regulators of Democrat-run California have adopted new rules banning the sale of diesel-powered big rigs by 2036 and mandating that all trucks in the state produce zero carbon emissions by 2042.

The new rules on diesel big rigs and all trucks in California are thus targeting “the backbone of the US commercial road transportation industry, Breitbart News notes in a report.

The announcement of the new truck rules came on the same day that the California Air Resources Board (CARB), a state government agency established to fight pollution, also enacted new regulations regarding trains.

Those require that railroad transport in the state produce “zero emissions” after 2030, as the Democrat-run state is now focusing on trains considered a “‘green’ alternative to cars and trucks.”

UPI reports that the California Air Resources Board has unanimously approved the Advanced Clean Fleets rule regarding diesel big rigs and other trucks.

The regulation has become the “first in the world” that requires all new commercial trucks, “including garbage trucks, delivery trucks and other medium and heavy-duty vehicles” to be electric-powered.

“This is an absolutely transformative rule to clean our air and mitigate climate change,” said CARB chair Liane Randolph, commented, as cited by Mercury News.

Environmental groups have praised the new California regulation on trucks. The new rules would remove heavy-duty diesel trucks, while CARB seeks to implement various measures to crack down on fossil fuel usage in order areas.

“I don’t think there’s been a single rule where we haven’t heard the technology isn’t ready, the costs are too great, or that it’s not the right time,” commented Will Barrett, national senior director of air advocacy for the American Lung Association.

“But the urgency of cleaning our air and confronting the climate crisis can’t wait,” he added.

Trucking industry groups criticized the CARB move.

“CARB has outright ignored the nation’s leading fleets and has put forth an overly ambitious, unrealistic, and unfeasible proposal,” reacted Eric Sauer, CEO of the California Trucking Association.

“[The new rules] will guarantee a complete dismantling of our state’s trucking industry and have a detrimental effect on goods movement and the entire supply chain,” he argued.

In August 2022, the California regulator finalized its rules prohibiting the sale of gasoline-power cars throughout the state after 2035.

What is your reaction to this move by California? Please share your thoughts and views by emailing [email protected]. Thank you.