California has withdrawn its request for a federal waiver requiring the trucking industry to transition to zero emissions vehicles.
California’s Advanced Clean Fleets rule was initially intended to set timelines requiring the trucking industry to transition to zero-emissions commercial vehicles, such as electric semi trucks. The waiver request was withdrawn on Tuesday, January 14th, along with several other anti-pollution waiver requests, reported Reuters.
The rule would have required port trucking operation to utilize zero emissions vehicles by 2035, and OTR trucking operations to have zero emissions by 2042. The rule would “have crippled interstate commerce by implementing harmful EV mandates on the trucking fleets,” said The Specialty Equipment Market Association.
The withdrawal comes after multiple states, including New York, New Jersey, and Washington have already adopted California’s proposed clean truck rules. Truck manufacturers are already required to sell more zero emissions trucks in a separate California rule.
“The withdrawal is an important step given the uncertainty presented by the incoming administration that previously attacked California’s programs to protect public health and the climate and has said will continue to oppose those programs,” CARB Chair Liane Randolph said in a statement.
The truck regulation was intended to go into effect at the beginning of 2024, but was put on hold after a legal challenge by the California Trucking Association and a continuously pending waiver decision by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has already approved a California plan ending the sale of gas-only vehicles by 2035.
California is still assessing how to move forward with policies aimed at improving air quality and reducing pollutants in the state.
The incoming Trump administration was expected to deny the waiver once in office.