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ARB outlines year-long sustainable freight strategy to seek near-zero freight emissions and stakeholder recommendations
Summary
The California Air Resources Board is developing a multimodal Sustainable Freight Strategy to identify actions that reduce air-pollutant and greenhouse-gas emissions while balancing job, competitiveness and supply-chain needs; ARB will deliver a strategy document by year-end and is conducting technology assessments and stakeholder outreach.
Doug Ito of the California Air Resources Board told the Transportation Commission on April 9 that ARB is developing a Sustainable Freight Strategy that will consider air quality, greenhouse gases, public health and freight competitiveness together.
Ito said the work is multimodal and broad-based, with an emphasis on "0 or near-0 emissions" as an aspirational target. ARB plans technology assessments to understand the feasibility and deployment timelines for alternative technologies (including natural gas and electric/zero-emission options) across segments of the freight system. The board adopted a resolution to underscore the effort's importance and gave staff direction to engage stakeholders and prepare recommended actions.
The strategy will include recommendations that go beyond ARB's regulatory authority; Ito said ARB expects to present a consolidated set of recommendations at year-end, including private- and public-sector actions that could move California toward a sustainable freight system. ARB will coordinate closely with Caltrans and use the California Freight Advisory Committee for outreach.
Commissioners asked about natural gas and electric technologies for trucks and locomotives. Ito said ARB will remain fuel- and technology-neutral in the assessments and will examine trade-offs between near-term reductions from natural gas and long-term gains from zero-emission solutions. ARB also has a parallel effort with railroads and universities to study alternative locomotive technologies and their implications for air basins such as the South Coast.
Ending: ARB will continue stakeholder outreach, complete technology assessments, and bring a strategy document with recommended actions to the ARB board by the end of the year; staff will coordinate closely with Caltrans and the commission's freight advisory processes.
