By: Carolina Peña, Project Manager for EcoMadres, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: April 12, 2022
About: Control of Air Pollution from New Motor Vehicles: Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Standards Proposed Rule, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0055
To: Environmental Protection Agency
My name is Carolina Peña, and I am the project manager for the EcoMadres program with Moms Clean Air Force, living in Alexandria, Virginia.
We must achieve net zero global warming pollution emissions by 2050. And that 2050 timeline is aligned with the latest science and the goal of the historic Paris Agreement in 2015. But here's the catch: the science is very clear that we will only be able to achieve that goal if we cut our current emissions in half by 2030.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector have more than doubled since 1970 and have increased at a faster rate than any other energy end-use sector to reach. Around 80% of this increase has come from road vehicles. The actions taken right now, this year, and over the next eight years, will determine whether we are able to keep the 2050 goal within reach.
Air pollution puts human health at risk in numerous ways. More than 13 million people, including 3.5 million children, live near ports and rail yards. An additional 45 million live within 300 feet of a highway or distribution center.
In the context of COVID-19, as of April 2021, Latinos are 2 times more likely to contract COVID-19, 3 times more likely to be hospitalized from COVID-19, and 2.3 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than our non-Hispanic white counterparts. The pandemic has made it crystal clear that communities of color bear the burdens of the 21st century. Climate change exacerbated by air pollution is slowly killing our Black and brown communities.
The new proposed rule would reduce nitrogen oxides (or NOx) emissions from trucks by as much as 60% in 2045, with benefits exceeding its costs by “billions” of dollars, including up to 2,100 fewer premature deaths and 3.1 million fewer cases of asthma symptoms.
The EPA's proposal does not go far enough. These standards must go further in reducing deadly NOx pollution, and they must put our national bus and truck fleet on a clear path to 100% zero-emission all-electric vehicles as quickly as possible.
This is a public health necessity. That is why my colleagues and I are strongly advocating for a rapid transition to every vehicle on every road, to run on clean, zero-pollution electricity. Please strengthen the final standards, to better protect children, people with asthma, older adults, and underserved communities that are overburdened with air pollution.
We must do this in a way that prioritizes environmental justice so that no community is left behind. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.