A Zero-emissions freight truck uses fuel cell electric to move loads while creating cleaner air and reducing pollution from emissions. (Kenworth/Toyota Fuel Cell Electric Truck (FCET)5 (Flicker/ CC BY-NC-ND 2.0))

Union of Concerned Scientists

In April, for the first time ever, the White House announced a commitment to a nationwide zero-emissions freight sector. The announcement reflects the Union of Concerned Scientists’ work with the Moving Forward Network (movingforwardnetwork.com ), a collection of about 50 organizations working to align transportation goals and make the plight of communities impacted by toxic freight pollution a top priority. Our community partners have been battling for decades for cleaner air and reduced fossil fuel pollution, and the Moving Forward Network’s coordinated approach is finally getting policymakers’ attention.

UCS has been focusing on the truck part of the freight-pollution problem. Heavy-duty trucks play a big role in our economy, but they generate a huge share of harmful tailpipe emissions. Heavy-duty vehicles (e.g., buses, delivery trucks, tractor-trailers) are responsible for more than 28 percent of the total global warming emissions from the transportation sector, as well as 45 percent of smog-forming nitrogen oxides and 57 percent of toxic fine particulate matter from all vehicles on the road. With 1,000 or more heavy-duty trucks passing through some communities each day, they disproportionately harm the health of those living nearby.

With the White House’s new zero-emissions freight commitment, the administration has targeted freight pollution impacting communities near ports, railyards, warehouses, and other freight routes, which have been historically underemphasized. Beyond heavy-duty vehicles and highways, it also covers the rail, warehouse, aviation, and marine sectors. Furthermore, the administration’s commitment recognizes the importance of meaningful engagement with community groups that have frontline experience with air pollution from the freight sector.

With more freight moving each year and the challenge of reducing emissions in this sector continuing to grow, the new national commitment represents a huge win for environmental justice organizations, frontline communities, and science-based policy. It also shows the collective power that our movement can wield when so-called green groups collaborate with environmental justice leaders.

Over the past several years, UCS has aligned several of its campaign goals with the Moving Forward Network. We have prioritized community led actions to drive power towards community solutions, offered technical assistance for MFN’s regulatory comments, and supported a network-led petition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that garnered 10,000 signatures from UCS supporters. We’re encouraged to see how this partnership is yielding results. Stay tuned as UCS expands its focus beyond truck pollution, aligning with community priorities to ensure these recent White House commitments come to fruition.

Reprinted with permission from the Catalyst, Summer 2024 issue found at https://bit.ly/Catalyst_Summer_2024.