Last Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced finalized Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles, (Phase 3) for model years 2027 through 2032. Heavy-duty vehicles, including tractor trailers, delivery vans, and diesel-powered school buses, play an outsized role in generating unhealthy air in our neighborhoods and carbon pollution that fuels climate change. These vehicles are responsible for 25 percent of total transportation sector greenhouse gas emissions, despite accounting for less than 4 percent of vehicles on the road.

On behalf of the 21,675 pro-life Christians who supported the proposal, the Evangelical Environmental Network celebrates the new tailpipe pollution safeguards. Medical research links traffic pollution to asthma, lung cancer, dementia, preterm birth, and other serious health harms. The finalized clean truck standards are estimated to reduce smog-forming nitrogen oxides by 53,000 tons in 2055 and cut one billion metric tons of climate pollution by 2055. These new safeguards are estimated to deliver $13 billion in total annual benefits and cost savings, including $300 million in average annual health benefits and $3.5 billion in average annual savings on fuel costs and maintenance for the trucking and transportation industry.

In response to these finalized standards, President & CEO of the Evangelical Environmental Network The Rev. Dr. Jessica Moerman released the following statement:

“72 million Americans live near heavy-duty truck routes, directly in the path of pollution. The finalized performance-based standards give the heavy-duty transportation industry the opportunity to deliver something new: cleaner air to our families and communities. As evangelicals committed to defending the health and life of all God’s children, we commend this important step forward on the route to the pollution-free world our children deserve.”