Research Group Urges EPA to Nix ZEV Credit System

by Arianna Skibell (E&E News) The International Council on Clean Transportation says the proposed zero-emission vehicle credit system, which allows manufacturers to use EV credits to offset emissions, would raise the pollution limit.

The International Council on Clean Transportation is calling on EPA to abandon its proposed zero-emission vehicle credit system for heavy-duty trucks.

The research group’s comments come as EPA is weighing a new rule to limit pollution from 18-wheelers, buses, delivery vans and other heavy-duty trucks. It would allow manufacturers to use EV credits to offset emissions.

“The incentive basically is: if you invest in ZEVs, you can pollute more,” Ray Minjares, ICCT’s heavy-duty vehicles program director, said during a webinar this week. “And that is, from our perspective, not the right arrangement.”

The draft rule, which EPA released in March, seeks to curb both toxic pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx) and greenhouse gas emissions.

It puts forward two options for gas- and diesel-fueled trucks, with both strengthening NOx emission standards starting in model year 2027.

The first option would implement tighter limits in two phases, with the second phase beginning in 2031 — mirroring California's recent "Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Omnibus Regulation." READ MORE