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by María Paula Rubiano A. (Grist)  New Jersey joins California, Oregon, and Washington in setting ambitious goals to electrify trucks by 2035. — The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection earlier this week adopted a rule to phase out diesel-powered trucks – meaning anything bigger than a delivery van – starting in 2025. Based on California’s Advanced Clean Trucks rule, or ACT, New Jersey’s policy will require between 40 to 75 percent of new truck sales in the state be pollution-free, zero-emission by 2035. 

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In turn, the almost 423,000 medium and heavy trucks that make up NJ’s fleet represent about 20 percent of vehicles’ greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report from the Natural Resources Defense Council, or NRDC, and Union of Concerned Scientists analyzing the benefits of implementing the rule. These vehicles are also responsible for large quantities of pollutants, including nitrogen oxide and particulate matter, which have been linked to multiple health issues like premature deaths, asthma, pulmonary cancer, and cardiovascular disease. 

Adopting the ACT rule can reduce ozone and particulate matter emissions by 43 and 13 percent, respectively, saving the state nearly $1 billion in public health costs over the next 30 years, found the NRDC and the Union of Concerned Scientists report. 

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The ACT rule proposes a timeframe to reduce the percentages of fossil fuel-powered truck sales in the state while increasing the percentage of electric vehicles sold. Besides New Jersey, Oregon and Washington have also adopted the rule. Several others are considering the act, including Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Colorado. Together, the states that have both adopted the rules and those considering it represent 20 percent of the nation’s medium-and-heavy-sized truck fleet, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.

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Right now, there are only 600 public charging stations for electric vehicles in New Jersey, not nearly enough to support the hundreds of thousands of trucks that circulate through the state every day, according to the state’s ​​Department of Environmental Protection.  READ MORE

DEP COMMISSIONER LATOURETTE ANNOUNCES ADOPTION OF CLEAN TRUCK RULES, SETTING NEW JERSEY ON PATH FOR ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE FUTURE (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection)

New Jersey Clean Trucks Program: An Analysis of the Impacts of Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Trucks on the Environment, Public Health, Industry, and the Economy  (M.J. Bradley and Associates)

Except from New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: The Department of Environmental Protection today announced the adoption of the Advanced Clean Truck and Fleet Reporting rules, important components of the Murphy Administration’s comprehensive strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fight climate change and improve air quality in the state. The adoption of these rules establishes New Jersey as one of the first states to require phasing in of clean electric commercial trucks to replace polluting diesel-powered trucks.

The Advanced Clean Truck rule requires manufacturers of vehicles more than 8,500 pounds to participate in a credit/deficit program intended to increase the percentage of zero-emission vehicles sold in New Jersey. In addition, the Fleet Reporting rule sets a one-time reporting requirement to obtain information about the in-state operation of fleets of vehicles over 8,500 pounds that will inform future decisions concerning further emission reductions from the transportation sector. The rules are modeled after regulations established in California and nearing adoption in several other states.

“New Jersey is already experiencing the adverse impacts of climate change, but we have the power and obligation to reduce its worsening in the years ahead by acting now to limit our emissions of climate pollutants,” said DEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette. “My DEP colleagues and I have proudly worked with Governor Murphy to make the Advanced Clean Truck and Fleet Reporting rules a centerpiece of our Climate Pollutant Reduction (CPR) initiative because transportation emissions remain the largest source of climate pollution in New Jersey, which disproportionately impair the air quality and public health in underserved communities. With the Governor’s continued environmental leadership, DEP intends further CPR reforms in the months and years ahead because acting together, we can improve public and environmental health for every New Jersey community, respond to the risks of climate change, and create good-paying green jobs in the process.”

“New Jersey once again demonstrates its leadership on electric mobility,” said Pam Frank, CEO of ChargeEVC, a nonprofit coalition that supports electric vehicle development and use. “Joining a handful of states adopting this important rule, this action is an important and necessary part of accelerating this transition.  It will bring health and economic benefits to everyone in the Garden State.”

New Jersey’s transportation sector is responsible for more than 40 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. While medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses account for only 4 percent of all vehicles on the road, they make up nearly 25 percent of transportation-sector greenhouse emissions. The rules will also address pollutants that are harmful to human health, including nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

The rules were developed as part of the NJ PACT (Protecting Against Climate Threats) initiative. NJ PACT is a holistic set of rulemaking initiatives that will better position New Jersey to reduce greenhouse gases driving climate change and make the state more resilient to intense storms and sea-level rise caused by a warming planet. These reforms represent a “PACT” with the residents of New Jersey to help them to both stave off the worst impacts of climate change and adapt to the unavoidable impacts that are already occurring. 

The adopted rules require each truck manufacturer selling medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in New Jersey to increase the number of electric vehicles sold in the state over time. 

Manufacturers generate credits by selling Zero Emission Vehicles in New Jersey or obtaining credits from another manufacturer’s sales of ZEVs in the state. Deficits attributable to a manufacturer are based on its total sales of all medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in New Jersey. The deficits incurred each year must be offset by credits beginning 2025 and increasing every year through 2035. This will increase the total number of ZEV sales in the state.

Under Governor Murphy, New Jersey has become a national leader on climate change. Through the Global Warming Response Act, the state is taking coordinated actions across the public and private sectors to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other climate pollutants to at least eighty percent below their 2006 levels by the year 2050. 

Increasing the use of ZEVs of all weight classes and increasing the number of vehicle-charging stations throughout New Jersey is critical to the overall strategy to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The state is aggressively funding electric trucks and buses as well as charging stations. Last month, Governor Murphy announced a $13.7 million investment in electric buses and trucks to reduce emissions and improve air quality in overburdened communities.

Since February 2021, New Jersey has committed nearly $71 million in Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative proceeds to purchase electric vehicles and install charging stations in environmental justice communities, which have shouldered the burden of air pollution and climate change.

For information on the DEP heavy-duty electrification efforts, visit www.drivegreen.nj.gov/mhdv.html

For more information on NJ PACT, the Global Warming Response Act and other climate change-related efforts in New Jersey, visit www.nj.gov/dep/climatechange/   READ MORE