(The Center Square) — A group of Democratic lawmakers are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to pump the brakes on the state’s plan to adopt tough new emissions standards for truck and SUV sales.
Legislation filed by Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, D-Binghamton, would delay the implementation of New York’s “Advanced Clean Truck regulations until at least Jan. 1, 2027. A similar bill has been filed in the State Senate.
Backers of the proposal say the new regulations will be “nearly impossible” for the trucking industry to comply with because of a lack of e-vehicle charging infrastructure, cost factors and other challenges that won’t be resolved before Hochul’s edict goes into effect this year.
“Major infrastructure and budgetary challenges must be accounted for before these policies are implemented to prevent disruptions within the supply chain,” Lupardo wrote in a summary of the bill. “The state’s highway system, and other major roadways, lack the necessary infrastructure to accommodate zero-emission truck vehicles.”
Lupardo said the average diesel truck can be refilled in about 10 minutes and can drive for about 2,000 miles, while an electric, zero-emission heavy-duty truck takes approximately 10 hours to charge and can run for about 500 miles.
For businesses that do switch, she noted, zero-emission heavy-duty trucks available are significantly more expensive, with upfront costs and delays in waiting for their new vehicles deterring many shipping companies from upgrading their fleet and deciding to continue use of older vehicles.
“Zero-emission heavy duty trucks can average three-times the cost of a normal diesel truck,” she wrote. “Companies that can afford to purchase these vehicles are faced with a significant wait time of up to eighteen months before receiving their new vehicle.”
A 2021 law signed by Hochul eliminates sales of gas-powered passenger cars, trucks, off-road vehicles and equipment by 2035; and medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2045. Truck manufacturers will be required, starting with the 2025 model year, to reduce annual sales of new zero-emission trucks by increasing levels, according to the rules, which are set to go into effect in January.
The plan is modeled after California’s Advanced Clean Trucks regulations and joins Massachusetts, New Jersey and other states with similar guidelines aimed at helping clean up some of the nation’s largest sources of planet-warming greenhouse gases.
“New York is implementing the nation’s most aggressive plan to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions affecting our climate,” Hochul said in a statement at the time. “To reach our ambitious goals, we must reduce emissions from the transportation sector, currently the largest source of the state’s climate pollution.”
Republican lawmakers have also called on Hochul to rescind the ACT regulations, arguing that the standards are unreachable with existing electric-vehicle technology and point to a lack of electric vehicle charging stations and power grid capacity to handle the shift to zero-emissions trucking.
Environmental groups argue the new regulations are crucial to helping the state meet its ambitious climate-change goals, which call for “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050. They have criticized the push to postpone the new emission rules.
“Delaying implementation is not only a foolish response to a false crisis whipped up by manufacturers, who are looking to rig the market in their favor, but it will lead to more ER visits, people suffering from asthma, and increased health costs, particularly for communities of color and low-income,” a coalition of green groups including the Sierra Club and Alliance for Clean Energy New York said in a statement.
