Industry Interpretations
Debunking common phrases from industry and lobbyists trying to delay clean truck progress
When industries push back on standards designed to advance cleaner technologies they purposefully use coded language that sometimes requires interpretation to understand what they truly mean. This language aims to obscure facts, mislead lawmakers and regulators, and confuse the public.
Trucking companies and truck makers have been fighting lifesaving standards that would clean up pollution from their vehicles for decades. As states and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopt and defend new standards to cut pollution from diesel trucks, trucking industry representatives will continue to spout myths and twist facts to delay progress.
The Advanced Clean Fleets rule is a key mechanism for states across the country to further electrify their medium- and heavy-duty fleets. Under the Clean Air Act, states can adopt stronger-than-federal standards if they are out of attainment. In order to implement the rule, the EPA must grant a waiver to uphold states’ authority. Recently, the EPA announced that the agency will hold a hearing on granting the waiver on August 14th. As we approach the EPA’s waiver hearing—which—if approved, will allow states to start implementing new electric truck standards, we want to interpret some of the common phrases you can expect from industry and other lobbyists supporting the fossil fuel industry so we’re not confused on what they actually mean.
INDUSTRY INTERPRETATIONS
| What They Say | What They Mean | The Truth! |
| What they say: “These trucks are early-stage technologies and the infrastructure to support them does not exist” (Source: ATA) | What they mean: “Electric trucks help companies and consumers end their dependence on expensive and volatile fossil fuels. Keeping dangerous, dirty and expensive diesel trucks on the road helps line our pockets.” | What’s the truth? Medium and heavy-duty electric trucks are already transporting goods across the country. Recently, Volvo’s electric semi-trucks have already logged over 50 million miles. Major companies across the country are using electric heavy-duty trucks to transport goods. |
| What they say: “There’s nowhere near enough power on the grid to convert the U.S. truck fleet to battery electric” (Source: ATA) | What they mean: “We need a reason to scare the public about the electric trucks that are already not only effectively and efficiently delivering goods, but also can serve as a grid resource.” | What’s the truth? Electric trucks can act as a grid resource, bigger electric truck batteries can power a home for days in case of an emergency. Many EVs can have the capacity to give power back to the grid during peak hours. |
| What they say: “Stronger clean truck rules could slow the transition to zero-emissions” (Source: Truckload Carriers Association (in EMA letter). | What they mean: “We don’t understand how fast the technology is moving forward and want to keep doing what we’ve been doing as long as we possibly can.” | What’s the truth? Stronger clean truck standards are already sending key market signals that support getting more electric trucks on the road. In California, where the Advanced Clean Truck and Advanced Clean Fleet rule have already been adopted, the state hit its electric truck goals two years early. |
| What they say: “Electric trucks are too expensive” (Source: ATA) | What they mean: “We want to keep doing business as cheaply as we can. And we don’t understand how new technology can be better for my business’s bottom line in the long term by saving me money on fuel and maintenance costs.” | What’s the truth? Electric trucks are becoming increasingly affordable. By 2030, an Energy Innovation study finds that most electric heavy-duty vehicles will be less expensive than their diesel counterparts. |
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