Rebuffing strong opposition from industry, California is expected to adopt a landmark rule on Thursday that requires more than half of all trucks sold in the state to be zero-emissions by 2035, a move that is set to improve local air quality, rein in greenhouse gas emissions and sharply curtail the state’s dependence on oil. On one freeway in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, near the largest concentration of Amazon warehouses in the country, a community group recently counted almost 1,200 delivery trucks go by in one hour. Oil companies, together with farming and other industries, opposed the measure, calling it unrealistic, expensive and an example of regulatory overreach. But California, which two years ago set an ambitious target of reducing emissions of planet-warming gases by 40 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, is holding firm. The state’s clean air regulator was widely expected to vote in favor of the rule at a hearing on Thursday.

Source: New York Times June 25, 2020 13:51 UTC