The California Air Resources Board is considering banning the sale of diesel commercial trucks by 2040 as part of the state's plan to ban the sale of all fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2035. The board is set to meet on Oct. 27 to discuss the matter, according to Fox News.
Emission-free by 2035: The Air Resources Board unveiled a proposition in late August that would require all vehicles in California be emission-free by 2035.
- The proposition states that fossil fuel vehicles are the “largest contributors in California to the formation of ozone, greenhouse gas emissions, fine particulate matter, and toxic diesel particulate matter.”
- The board hopes that transitioning away from gas-powered vehicles will help with pollution in the area and reduce the effects of the vehicles on climate change.
Diesel vehicles: If passed, the new regulations will likely increase demand for electric vehicles, which will put more pressure on the state’s power grid, according to the Los Angeles Times.
- Californians who rely on diesel trucks for their livelihood worry that the quick elimination of these vehicles would cause strain on the lives of many in the state.
- “There is no infrastructure to support this,” said Chris Shimoda, the vice president of the California Trucking Association.
- He states that even if California started working to produce more electric vehicle equipment now, it wouldn’t be enough to support the 400,000 large diesel trucks traveling across the state by 2035.