CLEAN TRUCKS NEW JERSEY CAN REDUCE THE STATES TRUCK POLLUTION PROBLEM

The briefing advocates for a 'Clean Trucks New Jersey' program, combining the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) and Heavy-Duty Omnibus (HDO) rules to replace diesel trucks with zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). Based on an MJ Bradley & Associates study, the program is projected to deliver $11.6 billion in societal benefits by 2050, including significant reductions in NOx and PM2.5, avoided premature deaths, and nearly 19 million metric tons of avoided CO2-equivalent emissions. The authors emphasize that while these rules are a start, additional targeted measures are necessary to protect environmental justice communities, particularly in areas like Camden County, Newark, and Elizabeth, which suffer disproportionate pollution impacts.

• Commercial trucks and buses in New Jersey, despite making up less than 10 percent of all vehicles, contribute 44 percent of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 39 percent of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions from all on-road vehicles.
• A proposed 'Clean Trucks New Jersey' program would utilize two primary policies: the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) rule, requiring ZEV sales to reach 40-75 percent by 2025-2035, and the Heavy-Duty Omnibus (HDO) rule, requiring NOx emission reductions of 75 percent by 2025 and 90 percent by 2027.
• According to an MJ Bradley & Associates study, the adoption of both ACT and HDO rules (Scenario 2) would result in cumulative reductions of 245 tons of PM2.5 and over 144,000 tons of NOx between 2024 and 2050, avoiding 228 premature deaths and 135,770 respiratory-related health cases.
• The Clean Trucks NJ program is projected to avoid nearly 19 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions from 2024 to 2050, reducing annual truck and bus emissions by 41 percent compared to current levels by 2050.
• The program is estimated to provide $11.6 billion in net societal benefits by 2050, including $419 million in annual fuel and maintenance savings for fleet owners and annual electricity bill reductions of $14 for the average resident and $60 for the average commercial customer.
• The transition to ZEV trucks is expected to create 349 net jobs by 2035 and attract approximately $1.7 billion in public and private investments for charging infrastructure between 2024 and 2050.
• The authors argue that ACT and HDO rules alone are insufficient for environmental justice communities, as they do not mandate where ZEVs are deployed; they recommend additional measures like zero-emission zones and retrofitting diesel equipment in high-impact areas such as Camden County, Newark, and Elizabeth.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2021). CLEAN TRUCKS NEW JERSEY CAN REDUCE THE STATES TRUCK POLLUTION PROBLEM. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/nj-clean-trucks-issue-brief_0.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. CLEAN TRUCKS NEW JERSEY CAN REDUCE THE STATES TRUCK POLLUTION PROBLEM. 2021. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/nj-clean-trucks-issue-brief_0.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=CLEAN TRUCKS NEW JERSEY CAN REDUCE THE STATES TRUCK POLLUTION PROBLEM |date=September 2021 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/nj-clean-trucks-issue-brief_0.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2021clean, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{CLEAN TRUCKS NEW JERSEY CAN REDUCE THE STATES TRUCK POLLUTION PROBLEM}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/nj-clean-trucks-issue-brief_0.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }