The Biden Administration announced plans to lower truck pollution in the United States. Trucks and buses are the biggest source of nitrogen oxides (NOx), one of the primary pollutants that causes smog in the US. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new rule that would require new trucks to reduce harmful nitrogen oxide emissions by 90 percent from current standards by 2031.
Susan Anenberg, Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health and of Global Health at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health shared about the topic:
Reducing NOx emissions from trucks will prevent a range of diseases, including asthma development and exacerbation among children and cardiovascular disease among adults. Since truck traffic has outsize impacts on communities of color and those with lower income levels and educational attainment, tightening NOx emissions standards for trucks can also improve air quality for the most overburdened communities.
She also notes that, “This plan is a necessary step to improve air quality, but not enough, as trucks are also major contributors to climate warming greenhouse gas emissions. Accelerating electrification and more structural approaches to reducing the amount of diesel fuel burned to move goods around can address both air pollution and climate change simultaneously.”
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