Energy Exchange

With oil and gas pollution rules restored, what’s next for EPA on methane?

By Rosalie Winn / Published: July 29, 2021

Last month, President Biden signed into law S.J. Res. 14, a Congressional Review Act resolution restoring methane pollution standards for the oil and gas sector by repealing Trump-era rollbacks. With bipartisan backing, Congress passed the measure and rejected the Trump administration’s dangerous weakening of methane protections and its unlawful attempt to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from setting stronger standards in the future.

With these protections restored, this fall EPA will propose additional standards for both new and existing sources of methane emissions.

Posted in Colorado, Methane, Methane regulatons, Natural Gas / Tagged New Mexico, Pennsylvania | Comments are closed

EDF analysis finds American fleets are embracing electric trucks

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 28, 2021

By Jason Mathers and Ellen Bell

Truck fleets across the country are enthusiastically embracing the emergence of electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks. This is the main finding of a new EDF analysis of public announcements and known deployments of leading fleets. EDF found nearly 500 existing electric deployments and pledges to deploy nearly 300 times more vehicles as additional models become available.

The analysis, which will be updated periodically to reflect new announcements and pledges, is available via a sortable Google Sheet.

Posted in Air Quality, Electric Vehicles / Comments are closed

4 signs of a growing U.S. supply chain for zero-emission trucks and buses

By Tim O'Connor / Published: July 21, 2021

Transitioning to zero-emission trucks and buses is necessary for both climate stability and to protect communities from air pollution. With nearly 23 million diesel-fueled medium and heavy duty trucks and buses operating on roads today in the U.S., moving to zero-emission technology will result in significant investments in manufacturing, infrastructure, operations and maintenance training, research and development and midlife vehicle businesses.

According to an analysis conducted by EDF and the consulting firm PwC, a significant amount of investments in the electric truck and bus supply chain has already taken place — yielding a strong and growing domestic supply chain for zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Amidst the findings by EDF and PwC, four indicators stand out most:

Posted in Air Quality, California, Electric Vehicles, Texas / Comments are closed

IKEA tests new model for accelerating electric delivery

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 15, 2021

By Harold Rickenbacker

Consumer preference for at-home delivery is on the rise, and with it, the need for more trucks on the road. Transportation is now the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions, and trucks — though making up only less than 5% of vehicles on the road — are responsible for over half of smog pollution. And yet, corporate progress on zero-emission shipping remains slow.

Electric Vehicle Sponsorship Models are a new, innovative opportunity that companies can use today to hit their climate goals. Through this mechanism, companies can ensure their items ship on EVs, even when they don’t own or manage their own delivery vehicles.

This past spring, IKEA piloted a first-ever sponsorship model to meet its goal of 100% zero emission home deliveries by 2025. Today, a fleet of 25 electric vehicles carrying IKEA products are servicing all five boroughs of the New York City market.

Posted in Air Quality, Electric Vehicles, New Jersey, New York / Comments are closed

States must continue driving progress on zero-emission trucks

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 14, 2021

By Larissa Koehler and Casey Horan

One year ago today, 15 states and Washington D.C. took a major step toward improving the health of people and our planet by committing to work collaboratively toward decarbonizing their trucking industries. As part of this agreement, these states have vowed to ensure 100% of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles sales will be zero-emitting by 2050, with an interim goal of 30% by 2030.

The Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management Multi-State ZEV Action Plan demonstrates a recognition from many states that they can and should lead the charge on emissions reduction because of the associated economic, environmental and public health benefits of a zero-emissions future.

Governors from states not yet a part of this MOU should consider signing on as soon as possible if they want to help shape the implementation of this transition. Furthermore, policymakers should view the overarching goal of 100% ZEV sales by 2050 as an important first step and strive for more ambition — namely to achieve 100% MHD ZEV sales by 2040.

Posted in Air Quality, California, Electric Vehicles, NESCAUM, New Jersey / Comments are closed

Leadership, bold action needed to scale electric trucks and buses

By Jason Mathers / Published: July 6, 2021

A recent report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance highlights the urgent need for policymakers to prioritize truck electrification, which could have sweeping benefits for the climate, public health, and American jobs. The annual EV outlook includes (for the first time) a comparison of the zero-emission vehicle adoption path needed to achieve net-zero by 2050, as well as a business-as-usual scenario where fleet operators continued to externalize the health and climate damage from operating combustion trucks.

For large trucks and buses, the difference between these scenarios is stark. According the BNEF summary, “by 2040, zero-emission medium and heavy commercial vehicles are 95% of sales in our Net Zero Scenario, but just 30% in the ETS. This represents an ‘adoption gap’ of 65 percentage points in 2040.”

Posted in Air Quality, California, Electric Vehicles, New Jersey / Comments are closed