Dive Brief:
- The Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association filed a motion March 20 to intervene in a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency. Through the motion, the group seeks to support the EPA’s repeal of Phase 3 greenhouse gas standards for heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers.
- The rules were set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, but the EPA recently eliminated the 2009 endangerment finding, which determined that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and serves as the legal basis for regulating emissions under the Clean Air Act.
- A coalition of 24 states and several cities challenged the repeal in a March 19 lawsuit, arguing that greenhouse gases are “air pollutants” under the Clean Air Act and that — under Massachusetts vs. EPA (2007) — the agency must regulate them once it determines they endanger public health and welfare.
Dive Insight:
The Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) argues that, unlike Phases 1 and 2, Phase 3 greenhouse gas restrictions do not consider current market demand for zero-emission vehicles.
While the regulation does not impose explicit sales requirements, manufacturers would still need to produce enough zero-emission vehicles to meet the mandated reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from heavy-duty vehicles. The industry group argues this effectively would force a market shift and limit choice for trucking fleets.
EMA President Jacqueline Gelb said the association's member companies invested “significant capital” to meet the EPA’s Phase 1 and Phase 2 rules.
“Those standards were successful because they were supported by fleet demand for technologies that met the performance demand requirements, delivered operational savings for EMA customers and successfully reduced emissions,” Gelb said in the release. “Despite the fact that manufacturers have invested tens of billions of dollars to develop and bring to market zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles, the GHG Phase 3 sales mandate should not be the means to shift the market to zero emission technologies.”
Other trucking groups have also voiced support for the EPA’s decision. Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer said there’s no proof that electric trucks are practical for trucking businesses, due to the upfront costs of purchasing the vehicles and the availability of charging infrastructure.
“Mom-and-pop trucking businesses would be suffocated by the sheer cost and operational challenges of effectively mandating zero-emission trucks,” Spencer said in a statement.
If EMA’s efforts are successful, the EPA could reverse its longstanding determination that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health, potentially overhauling federal climate regulations tied to that finding.
Environmental groups and state officials argue the EPA is abandoning its own science record and statutory responsibilities, putting public health at risk in the process.
“The Agency’s reinterpretation of the Clean Air Act is inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent, and it contradicts decades of scientific consensus,” said Kate Zyla, executive director of the Georgetown Climate Center, in a statement. “In particular, vehicles are the largest U.S. source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and we know we have real technological solutions for reducing those emissions. The rollback of these standards is a significant step backward.”
