Remarks for the Heavy Duty Vehicles Announcement Press Call, As Prepared for Delivery
Michael Regan
Washington, DC
Good afternoon, everyone! Thank you all for joining today’s call.
Before we begin, I’d like to thank Ali Zaidi for joining us.
Ali, you bring invaluable expertise and a much-needed perspective to this administration’s climate work, and we’re grateful to have you as a partner in the White House.
I’d also like to thank Paul Billings from the American Lung Association, Katherine Garcia from Sierra Club; and Reverend Yearwood from the Hip Hop Caucus for joining us for today’s announcement.
You all have been fighting for decades—and continue to fight—for cleaner, healthier, and more equitable communities. Your efforts have been pivotal to our progress so far, and we are honored to have you as partners in our mission.
Since the start of this administration, President Biden has been committed to tackling climate change with the urgency that the science demands.
EPA is at the center of the President’s historic and ambitious climate agenda, and we are working every day to ensure that all people—regardless of the color of their skin, the community they live in, or the money in their pocket—have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and an opportunity to live a healthy life.
Today, EPA is taking another giant step forward to protect future generations from climate change.
I’m proud to announce that EPA is finalizing the strongest national greenhouse gas standards for heavy-duty vehicles in history, covering model years 2027 through 2032.
These updated standards will avoid 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions and provide $13 billion in net benefits, while saving truck owners and operators money through reduced fuel and maintenance costs.
Let me be clear: These final standards are technology neutral, allowing each manufacturer to choose what set of emissions control technologies works best for them – whether that’s advanced internal combustion engine vehicles, hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
These standards also represent the final piece of EPA’s “Clean Trucks Plan”—complementing standards EPA finalized in early 2023 to reduce nitrogen oxide pollution, as well as the strongest-ever light- and medium-duty vehicle standards that we announced last week.
Heavy-duty vehicles are essential for moving goods and services throughout our country, keeping our economy moving.
They are also significant contributors to pollution from the transportation sector; emissions that are fueling climate change and creating poor air quality in too many American communities. By finalizing this rule and the Clean Trucks Plan, we are tackling both of these public health challenges head-on.
An estimated seventy-two million Americans—often people of color, or people with lower incomes—live near freight truck routes.
These communities are disproportionately exposed to pollution from heavy duty vehicles, resulting in higher rates of respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses and even premature death.
Reducing emissions from our heavy-duty vehicles means cleaner air and less pollution. It means safer and more vibrant communities. It means lower fuel and maintenance costs for truck owners and operators. And it means healthier Americans.
Our Clean Trucks Plan works in tandem with President Biden’s unprecedented investments in America, and delivers on this administration’s commitment to tackling climate change while advancing environmental justice.
Building on EPA’s long-standing Diesel Emissions Reduction Act Program, our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Clean School Bus Program, the Inflation Reduction Act Clean Ports Program, as well as our upcoming clean heavy-duty vehicle funding program—we are making deep cuts to emissions from our nation’s transportation sector, investing billions of dollars to replace older vehicles and engines with cleaner alternatives, and creating thousands of good-paying American jobs in the process.
Over the next decade, these standards—paired with this administration’s historic investments in U.S. manufacturing—will set owners, operators, and businesses on a clear path to winning the jobs and industries of the 21st century.
Since the start of my role as EPA Administrator, I’ve made it clear that engagement is key to achieving our collective climate and environmental goals, and I’m committed to working hand-in-hand with all of our stakeholders to usher in a new generation of clean transportation.
While working with our partners in the trucking industry, as well as with workers, environmental groups, and environmental justice communities, we will continue to consult these groups to learn from their experiences and gather relevant data and information.
Together, we’re accelerating America—supercharging our communities, and reenergizing the economy.
I’m grateful to all who helped us reach this historic moment, particularly those in EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Office of Atmospheric Protection, and Office of General Counsel, who worked tirelessly to finalize the rule.
With today’s announcement, we have more than enough reason to be optimistic about what’s possible for the future of our country, and the future of our planet.
Thank you. It's now my pleasure to turn things over to President Biden’s National Climate Advisor, Ali Zaidi.