Freight transport in Europe accounts for only 2% of vehicles on the road but is responsible for 22% of all road transport climate pollution in the EU. With e-commerce on the rise, construction booming, waste generation increasing and grocery delivery expanding, the need for urban freight plans and policies is growing.
Photo from “Romanian Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas” project, part of “Methane Goes Mobile – Measurements and Modeling (MEMO2)” campaign sponsored by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program- to assess context and quantity of Romania’s methane emissions
Amidst all the positive momentum behind reducing global oil and gas methane emissions lies a critical challenge: If we’re going to reduce global methane emissions, we need accurate and trustworthy numbers to define the scope of the problem, assess company and country performance and track emissions over time and against reduction goals.
Because you can’t manage what you don’t measure, accurately.
Fleets across the country are going electric and utilities and regulators must be prepared for this essential transition. New York is currently taking on an ambitious medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicle proceeding to address barriers to charging infrastructure and has just conducted a series of technical workshops that brought together fleets, utilities and experts, including Environmental Defense Fund, to share their knowledge, recommendations and needs with the New York Public Service Commission.
In a move that will protect communities across the country, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will soon finalize new rules to reduce methane and other toxic, smog-forming pollution from the nation’s oil and gas industry.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that’s fueling much of the climate crisis due to the excessive warming it creates during its lifetime in the atmosphere. Methane makes up about 12% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., but it’s responsible for over 25% of current warming.
Photo courtesy of North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s proposed Phase 3 Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards are poised to add yet another spark to the medium- and heavy-duty truck industry’s acceleration toward low- and zero-emission trucks.
Whereas many of the incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act are intended to spark demand for zero-emission trucks, EPA’s proposed truck rule, when finalized, could help to ensure there will be a robust supply of low- and zero-emission solutions for fleets. In EPA’s proposal for these technology-neutral performance standards, the agency projects manufacturers could meet the standards through increasing market shares for zero-emission trucks. For example, in 2030, this could help ensure that 27% of medium-duty vocational trucks – like parcel delivery step vans, and 20% of tractor-trailer day cabs will be ZEVs.
This summer, many of the world’s largest asset managers publicly disclosed their voting records from this spring on climate shareholder resolutions, and the results indicate a worrisome trend. Many failed to support ambitious climate proposals — and some stumbled even on the simple ones, like calling for better methane emission data. Read More
