The U.S. EPA plans to issue tougher greenhouse gas emissions rules for heavy duty trucks and other larger vehicles through at least the 2030 model year by the end of 2023. Under the EPA’s revised schedule, the agency plans to issue proposed rules in March and final rules by the end of December, a move the agency said will allow it “to put in place ambitious GHG standards for heavy-duty vehicles as soon as possible.”
The EPA in March had proposed tighter standards for 17 of the 33 sub-categories of vocational and tractor vehicles, including school buses, transit buses, commercial delivery trucks, and short-haul tractors. In September, the agency said it was reopening the proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) rules after passage in August of the climate and spending Inflation Reduction Act that creates a commercial vehicle credit of up to $40,000, a move that could speed the U.S. shift to electric heavy-duty vehicles.
The EPA said earlier it would issue a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to consider more stringent GHG standards for model years 2027 through 2029 in December but now will skip that step and move to announce the new longer proposal by March.