article thumbnail

Fighting Climate Change and Unhealthy Air, California Wants to Electrify Trucks, Too

Union of Concerned Scientists

California’s fleet of commercial trucks and buses is responsible for an outsized impact on air quality and climate change. Regulations like the ACF are critical to ensuring that we make the transition to electric at the speed necessary to address both climate change and equitable access to clean air.

article thumbnail

Diesel is the Reason for the Sneezin’: Cleaner Holiday Deliveries are on the Horizon

Union of Concerned Scientists

For example, home deliveries in some areas may cut climate-warming emissions compared to driving in a personal vehicle to purchase items in person. Even when accounting for pollution from electricity generation, electric trucks can significantly reduce air pollution and get us on a better track to addressing climate change.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Congress Considers First-Ever Purchase Incentive for Commercial EVs

Union of Concerned Scientists

A key step towards addressing climate change and air quality. Cleaning up heavy-duty vehicles is one of the most consequential tasks in reducing climate-warming greenhouse gases and toxic air pollution from the transportation sector. These policies will complement the important provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

article thumbnail

Why the Bay Area’s Zero-Emission Appliance Rule is a Big Deal

Legal Planet

Research shows that halting the burning of fossil fuels in homes and businesses is beneficial for the health of residents and vital to combat climate change. The Threats of Gas Appliances Every day, domestic gas-powered building appliances emit 65 tons of toxic and highly reactive gases called nitrogen oxides (NOx) per day.

article thumbnail

We Need an Agreement to Phase out Fossil Fuels at COP28

Union of Concerned Scientists

Beyond the climate harms of fossil fuels, they also impose a terrible toll on human health, as numerous recent studies show—including the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change , a BMJ study on global deaths from air pollution caused by fossil fuels, and a study on US deaths attributable to coal-fired electricity generation.

article thumbnail

Dear Maryland: It’s Time to Drive Clean Trucks and Buses

Union of Concerned Scientists

Map of diesel particulate pollution in Maryland ( Kevin Shen/UCS ) Climate change in Maryland is no joke either Sometimes when I’m frustrated about climate legislation that isn’t moving forward fast enough in Annapolis I think about how ironic it is that more and more frequently , floodwaters will be knocking on legislators’ doors.

article thumbnail

Are There Enough Materials to Manufacture All the Electric Vehicles Needed?  

Union of Concerned Scientists

The transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is necessary to decrease climate-changing emissions. By using recycled instead of newly mined materials, reduction of climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions is approximately 64%. The short answer is yes. But this is a complicated question, so let’s dig in further.