Company officials with fleets of trucks are urging governors across the country to embrace a rule meant to speed up the adoption of zero-emission trucks while reducing a potent source of greenhouse gases deriving from large commercial vehicles.
In a September 24 letter, organized by the nonprofit Ceres,, representatives from IKEA, Nestle, Siemens, Etsy, eBay, Ben & Jerry’s, and Unilever joined environmental activists and investors to call for wider adoption of the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule.
The rule requires manufacturers of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to increase sales of zero-emission models over time in states where the policy is put in place. As production ramps up, the cost to manufacturers and buyers should come down, advocates said.
Supporters of the rule say companies are increasingly demanding clean trucks to help meet climate and pollution goals and to save on fuel and maintenance costs. Approval of the rule by state governments could help give an added nudge to truck manufacturers, backers said.
The switch to zero-emission trucks will also help reduce pollution in lower-income neighborhoods, many of which border highways, major roads, and shipping centers, and where residents often have health problems like asthma, advocates said. The rule has already been adopted in California and is being considered in several other states.
“Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are an essential part of the logistics networks that millions of Etsy sellers rely upon to deliver items to their buyers around the world, but these vehicles contribute disproportionately to air pollution and global warming emissions,” said Etsy’s Senior Manager of Sustainability Chelsey Evans in a statement. “Widespread adoption of zero-emission vehicles, including through the Advanced Clean Trucks Rule, is key to combating climate change.”
States have begun to acknowledge the pollution linked to cars and trucks and its effect on the climate. Last year, the governors of three New England states and the mayor of Washington, D.C., signed a regional pact aimed at dramatically reducing transportation pollution, an agreement they hope other states will eventually join.
The Transportation and Climate Initiative Program is designed to reduce motor vehicle emissions by at least 26% by 2032 by requiring fuel suppliers to purchase “allowances” for the pollution caused by the use of the fuels they sell in the region.
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