Following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of California’s Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) and Heavy-Duty Low NOx Omnibus Standards, the Environmental Defense Fund has said that the move will help incentivise businesses and lead to job creation.
Under the terms of the Clean Air Act, California sought authorisation to enforce its own standards relating to vehicle emissions that are more protective than national standards.
“These standards will have profound benefits for protecting people from traffic pollution,” commented Alice Henderson, director and lead counsel for transportation and clean air policy at the Environmental Defense Fund. “They’ll help curtail pollution from new cars and trucks, while also incentivising broader deployment of clean technologies and helping to create thousands of new jobs.
“EPA’s approval of these standards for California and numerous other states is a welcome action to reduce pollution, including in communities where it’s most needed.”
ACCII standards
The ACCII standards will take effect from 2026, introducing LEV IV rules to reduce exhaust and evaporative emissions while mandating an increasing share of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) each year.
By 2035, all new light-duty vehicles sold in California must be ZEVs or plug-in hybrids, with up to 20% of the latter allowed within the mandate.
Through this initiative, California will seek to cut more than 30 tonnes of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, two tonnes of particle pollution, and 58 million metric tonnes of climate pollution annually by 2040.
In addition, the Heavy-Duty Low NOx Omnibus Standards will overhaul emissions regulations for diesel vehicles, requiring cleaner engines, enhanced testing, and extended warranties by 2031.
Once fully implemented, these standards are projected to cut NOx emissions by more than 23 tonnes daily, the equivalent of removing 16 million passenger cars from the road.
‘The transportation sector is one of the biggest sources of harmful pollutants, including deadly particle pollution and smog-forming nitrogen oxides,’ the Environmental Defense Fund said in a statement. ‘It is also the largest source of U.S. climate pollution, responsible for nearly a third of U.S. emissions annually.’
Taking the initiative
Eleven other states – Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington – and the District of Columbia have adopted ACCII under Clean Air Act authority. Collectively, these states make up 33% of the U.S. new vehicle market.
Elsewhere, nine other states, including Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, have adopted Heavy-Duty Low NOx Omnibus Standards. Read more here.
