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Friday, March 29, 2024

California “Ditches Dirty Diesel”

 Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, last week introduced an amended bill.  SB44, also known as “Ditching Dirty Diesel”, requiring the California Air Resources Board, by Jan. 1, 2021, “to develop a comprehensive strategy for the deployment of medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles in the state that results in bringing the state into compliance with federal ambient air quality standards.”

“Ditching Dirty Diesel,” that would require medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles in California to have a 40 percent reduction in gas emissions by 2030 and an 80 percent reduction by 2050.

The measure claims that diesel-fueled trucks are responsible for 33 percent of statewide oxides of nitrogen emissions annually.

“Tailpipe pollution not only damages our health, it’s a major source of greenhouse gas emissions,” Skinner said in a news release. “And the exhaust from diesel trucks in particular presents a pressing health crisis for families and children living near ports and trucking routes, such as West Oakland and Richmond.”

The Ditching Dirty Diesel bill also calls for setting aside a percentage of the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund each year until 2025 to support the transition to clean medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles.

“We need to continue to send strong policy signals and financial incentive to spur the transition away from dirty diesel,” Skinner said.

The Ditching Dirty Diesel bill is expected to receive strong opposition as it would require a major overhaul of the trucking industry.