The Biden administration is cracking down on climate pollution from heavy-duty trucks. The Environmental Protection Agency’s new regulation for trucks announced today would slash 1 billion tons of atmospheric pollution by midcentury, making it one of the country’s most significant climate regulations, writes Mike Lee. The measure may also be critical for public health. Dump trucks, delivery vans and other big trucks make up only 4 percent of U.S. road traffic, yet they spew a quarter of harmful air pollution from vehicles. But like a number of recent Biden regulations, EPA’s final rule is softer than the agency’s initial proposal. The rule doesn’t ban conventional engines. Instead it sets annual limits for planet-warming pollution that ratchet down each year and vary by truck size and classifications. The final rule also calls for less-stringent pollution limits during its early years and allows for a broader range of technologies. The adjustments mirror changes EPA made to its final climate rule for cars released this month. Both regulations come in an election year as President Joe Biden attempts to court climate-minded votes while also insulating his policies from legal attacks. The final rule disappointed some green groups. Guillermo Ortiz with the Natural Resources Defense Council said EPA could’ve done more. “Every wheeze, every gasp for breath in communities impacted by the movement of freight serves as a reminder of the urgency to act,” he said in a statement. Traffic-related air pollution is responsible for about 22,000 premature deaths in the United States every year. Those emissions disproportionately affect communities of color and low-income areas, which are more likely to be located near highways, freight corridors, rail yards and warehouses. Respiratory consequences are not felt evenly across the country. Black and Native Americans have the highest asthma rates compared to other races and ethnicities. In 2018, Black people in the United States were 42 percent more likely than white people to suffer from asthma, according to federal data. EPA’s compromises with industry may not go far enough to insulate the rule from legal attack. And congressional Republicans are already mulling ways to undo the measure.
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