The US Environmental Protection Agency has awarding $AUD 207 million ($US135 million) in grants to fund 13 projects in California to help the state wean its way off fossil fuels and phase out diesel trucks in that country’s most populous state.
The money reportedly will go to the state transportation department, cities and school districts, among others, to purchase 455 zero-emission vehicles to replace diesel-powered trucks, school buses and other large vehicles. It is part an EPA program that provides a total of $AUD1.15 billion ($US735 million) to fund 70 projects across the US, the agency announced last week.
The grants are paid for by the 2022 climate law approved by congressional Democrats, which is known as the Inflation Reduction Act, and which also includes nearly $AUD 630 million ($US 400 billion) in spending and tax credits to accelerate the expansion of clean energy such as wind and solar power, speeding the America’s transition away from the oil, coal and natural gas that largely cause climate change.
The funds, to be delivered in early 2025, “will reduce air pollution, improve health outcomes in nearby communities, and advance the campaign to tackle climate change,” Martha Guzman, the EPA’s regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest said in a statement.
California and local agencies will have the next two to three years to implement the grants for zero-emission trucks.
Across America, the transportation sector contributes the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions annually, and according to the EPA, medium- and heavy-duty trucks contribute nearly a quarter of those emissions.
Heavy-duty vehicles make up about three per cent of vehicles on the road in California, but they generate more than half of the nitrogen oxides and fine-particle diesel pollution, according to the California Air Resources Board.
California is trying to rid itself of fossil fuels, passing new rules in recent years to phase out fossil fuel-powered cars, trucks, trains and lawn equipment in the nation’s most populous state. But those rules still require waivers from the EPA, which typically sets standards for emissions from passenger cars, trucks and other vehicles.
California’s Governor. Gavin Newsom in anticipation of the incoming presidency of Donald Trump, traveled to Washington in November to urge the Biden administration to grant waivers to eight climate rules, including those on zero-emission vehicles and emission standards for pollutants.
The issues have been targeted in the past by President-elect Trump.
