California regulators approved a contentious amendment to phase out its medium- and heavy-duty diesel trucking fleet at its ports and rail yards by 2035, an effort to wean the state off fossil fuel-powered vehicles and spur investments in electric trucks — even as industry officials have criticized the timeline as deeply impractical.
And beginning in 2025, the regulations call for a gradual phase-out of all diesel-powered trucks at ports, rail yards, and warehouses across the state. Currently, off-road diesel vehicles comprise roughly 14% of total nitrous oxide emissions in California, making them the second-largest source of mobile NoX in the state.
Just 500 of the 1.8 million heavy-duty trucks operating in California today are zero emissions, Chris Shimoda, the senior vice president of government affairs at the California Trucking Association, CTA, said during a recent radio interview on California’s State of the Bay — making clear just how expansive the proposed overhaul would be.