Attorney General Bonta Leads Multistate Coalition to Defend U.S. EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles

OAKLAND — On behalf of California and leading a multistate coalition of 23 attorneys general and four cities, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) filed a motion to intervene in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to help defend the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s final greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles. These vehicles include freight trucks, delivery trucks, buses, shuttles, and vocational vehicles such as street sweepers and refuse haulers. The rule will reduce 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions and result in $10 billion annual climate benefits, $300 million in annual non-greenhouse gas public health benefits and $3.5 billion in annual operational savings for the trucking industry over the lifetime of these vehicles. Currently, the rule is being challenged by 25 Republican-led states, which seek to stop emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles from taking effect. 

“We cannot let groundless claims derail our prompt action against this climate crisis,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Not only does EPA’s rule provide robust economic benefits, it also protects communities from harmful air pollution, especially communities of color and low-income communities that disproportionately bear the burden of this pollution. That’s why I will continue to fight to defend solutions based on science and facts.” 

“In California, while trucks represent only 6% of vehicles on the road, they generate almost 25% of greenhouse gas emissions from their exhaust, making them an essential sector for solutions that reduce pollution and clean the air,” said CARB Chair Liane Randolph. “The climate crisis and poor air quality that so many communities across the nation face needs to be tackled with strong policies that advance technological innovation, and California is proud to advocate for continued progress and America’s leadership on solutions.”

Transportation is the leading source of GHG emissions in the country, and heavy-duty vehicles contribute 25% of emissions within the sector, making them the second-largest contributor of transportation emissions. In addition, heavy-duty vehicles are a significant source of non-GHG pollution that detrimentally affects air quality and imposes serious health effects including premature death and asthma. The impacts of both climate change and poor air quality disproportionately harm environmental justice communities, especially the 72 million Americans who live near major truck freight routes, who are more likely to be people of color or low-income.

This intervention continues California’s support for the Biden Administration’s efforts to reduce emissions across the country. This April, Attorney General Bonta, alongside Governor Newsom and CARB, led a multistate coalition to help defend EPA’s emissions standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027-2032.

Attorney General Bonta and CARB are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, the city and county of Denver, and the cities of Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York in filing the motion.

A copy of the motion can be found here.