Jim Mullen’s Post

Amidst regulatory developments, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is on the brink of finalizing stringent emissions regulations for truck engines starting from the 2027 model year and extending through to 2032. The expectation has sparked considerable debate within the industry, with the American Trucking Associations and independent owner-operators expressing deep reservations about the rule’s feasibility and financial implications. https://lnkd.in/g6YKS69i

Just to be perfectly clear, Big Oil is the primary driver behind opposition to the reasonable, achievable, technology neutral emissions standards recently finalized by EPA. This is of course perfectly logical and rational from their perspective. Cleaner, more efficient vehicles use less fuel, which means less demand for their products, and less money in their pockets. It makes sense that they use all means necessary including the courts, donations to politicians, and highly funded disinformation campaigns to slow the adoption of vehicles that require less liquid fuel. I don't blame them, they're just trying to protect their business and their profits. The problem is that their business is harmful to our environment, harmful to public health, and harmful to consumers' pocket books. It is the role of government to step in and draw a line that says your right to make a profit ends when you harm others. The EPA standards they oppose so vociferously will greatly limit those harms. They will put over $1 trillion back into consumers' pockets, while significantly reducing climate pollution, and improving public health.

Federal lawsuit alert! The Biden administration emissions policy is under attack. 21 states are taking on President Biden and his team over claims of exceeding authority on greenhouse gas regulations. Here's the scoop: Allegations: Only Congress can make GHG rules Biden, Buttigieg, and Bhatt broke the law Lawsuit Details: Targets DOT, FHWA, and key individuals Accusations: Biden's executive orders violated the law Buttigieg's National Highway Program under fire GHG rules linked to 2050 emissions goal States' Stand: Asserting sovereign rights 5 law violations listed Key Points: Deadline stress for states New GHG standards affecting National Highway System Rural Challenges: Critics argue urban-centric solutions won't work Economic burdens predicted, estimating up to $12.7 million cost in the first decade https://lnkd.in/gn6NVwhK

New Mexico's Senate advanced its low-carbon fuel standard legislation, passing it to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for signature. She is expected to sign it into law. This clean fuel standard (#CFS) would require lowering the carbon intensity of transportation fuels by 20% by 2030 and 30% by 2040. State-level clean fuel standards are being considered nationwide to help mitigate transportation emissions (about 27% of US overall emissions). We applaud New Mexico for its leadership and encourage other states reviewing such programs - like New York, Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Colorado - to follow suit. Beyond such important state-level action, a national #CFS would tie together a unified approach and structure to accelerate progress toward lowering emissions regardless of fuel technology type (liquid, electron, or gas form) while bolstering US energy independence. Chris Hessler | Jessica Bennett | Mary Solecki | Rich Kassel | Madelyn Wiseman | Anna Schutt | Caitlin Clark | Ethan Spira | Jo T. | Jordan Flanagan

The Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service have issued guidance on sustainable aviation fuel tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. Developed in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture and the Federal Aviation Administration, the guidance provides safe harbors for companies to use when calculating lifecycle greenhouse gas emission reductions and for third-party certifications. It also includes an additional SAF tax credit for the use of the USDA’s Climate Smart Agricultural pilot program for corn and soybeans. You can learn more about the guidance in this alert by Deanna Reitman, Aaron Szabo and Bryan Allen.

CARB's “In-Use Locomotive Regulation" is another example of governance that will without a doubt lead to ❌ retrogression rather than ✅ progression. The state's logic to use regulations as a way to set goals for technology that doesn't exist yet will only cause supply chain disruptions and a rippling effect of other states in the U.S. scrambling to play catchup to California's infeasible laws. The biggest red flag is the EPA's potential violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s major questions doctrine by allowing California to issue such a rule - one that would deliver major economic and societal impacts to the entire nation. + Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/gGqW6BBb... ----------------------------------------------------- #fuel #fuels #conveniencestores #california #caleg #emissions #energy #sustainable

On behalf of over 200 organizations nationwide, last Friday the Illinois Manufacturers' Association submitted a letter to the USEPA asking for the rejection of a rule from the California Air Resources Board which would "circumvent federal laws and impose unfeasible mandates requiring railroads across the United States to purchase zero emission locomotives that are not yet commercially viable while also artificially limiting the useful life of their locomotive fleets." Freight rail is an environmentally-responsible way to ship product overland; contributing less than 2% of all transportation sector GHG emissions. As the letter stated: "It is difficult to see how the CARB regulation, which would undermine freight rail’s efficiencies and could divert rail freight to highways, are in the national interest." Other Illinois signatories include: Calumet Area Industrial Commission, Chemical Industry Council of Illinois, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers, Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Retail Merchants Association, Illinois Soybean Association, and the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

🚚 🍃 California's Plans for Zero Emission Trucks are On Hold - by Phillip Babich 💚 California awaits a crucial decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals on whether it can enforce stricter vehicle emissions standards than the EPA. The proposed standards aim to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, but face opposition from trucking and petroleum industries. 👇 Read more below. #california #epa #greenhousegasemissions #courtofappeal #legalnews https://lnkd.in/eJrz4f5E

Policy Update: The U.S. Treasury Department released a highly anticipated update to the Department of Energy’s Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Technologies (GREET) model. The update provides guidance on how feedstocks like corn ethanol could qualify for sustainable aviation fuel under the 40B tax credit. The National Corn Growers Association raised concerns about the changes made to the GREET model and the requirements for farmers to qualify for the tax credit. Stay updated for more details as the Biden administration focuses on the next phase of the Inflation Reduction Act. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gFdgdiPv

On April 30, 2024, Treasury and IRS released key guidance on how sustainable aviation fuel producers must calculate their SAF’s lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions for certain tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. My colleague Aaron Lang provides an overview.