Heavy-duty Greenhouse Gas “Phase 3” for Model Years 2027 and Later - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
EPA is proposing to set new, more ambitious emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles for model year (MY) 2027 and later. This proposed “Phase 3” rule would ensure the heavy-duty vehicles and engines that drive American commerce and connect people across the country are as clean as possible while charting a path to advance zero-emission vehicles in the heavy-duty fleet.
Despite the significant emissions reductions achieved by previous rulemakings, greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles continue to impact air quality and the climate. The proposed standards would have significant benefits to public health, welfare, and the environment if finalized. The net benefits from the heavy-duty proposal range from $180 billion to $320 billion. The proposed standards would reduce heavy-duty vehicle emissions of CO2 by approximately 1.8 billion metric tons from 2027 through 2055. EPA estimates the climate benefits alone at $80 billion for the heavy-duty proposal.
Society would realize up to $25 billion in health benefits from the proposal from fewer premature death and serious health effects such as hospital admissions due to respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, as well as approximately $12 billion in reduced reliance on oil imports. This means cleaner air nationwide, especially for communities near major roadways, where low-income populations and people of color are disproportionately exposed to pollution from vehicles.
In 2055, the increased use of zero-emission vehicle technology projected in the proposal would also reduce emissions of smog and soot-forming pollutants, including:
- approximately fewer 650 tons of particulate matter,
- 72,000 tons of nitrogen oxides, and
- 21,000 tons of volatile organic compounds, compared to 2055 levels without the proposal.
The Phase 3 program applies to heavy-duty vocational vehicles such as delivery trucks, refuse haulers, public utility trucks, transit, shuttle, school buses, and tractors such as day cabs and sleeper cabs on tractor-trailer trucks. The proposed “Phase 3” greenhouse gas program maintains the flexible structure created in EPA’s “Phase 2” program, which is effectively designed to reflect the diverse nature of the heavy-duty industry.
With the announcement of the light- and medium-, and heavy-duty rulemakings, the two proposals are the final pieces of the “Clean Trucks Plan” and complement the new heavy-duty NOx standards established in December 2022. Together these three actions under the “Clean Trucks Plan” will reduce greenhouse gases and harmful air pollution from across the on-road sector. The proposal is also consistent with President Biden’s Executive Order, “Strengthening American Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks,” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector.