California's air is under attack, for the same companies that promised to clean it.
In 2023, truck manufacturers came to a deal with the California Air Resources Board to drastically reduce emissions and invest in electric trucks. This summer, however, several of the companies, Daimler Truck, Volvo Group, Paccar and Trete, were expelled from the association and sued California, with the support of the Trump administration. Now corporations aligned with fossil fuel are taking advantage of the political connections to weaken supervision, erode environmental protections and strengthen their domain.
It is no longer just about truck emissions. This is who can write the rules that govern our economy and who decides how contaminated our state will be. It is about defending democracy of corporate overreach.
Probably seeing an opportunity to benefit from the diesel under the new federal leadership, the main truck manufacturers that do business in California are injecting instability into the market itself that once sought to stabilize. This is the political, simple and simple opportunism.
The 2023 Agreement, known as the Association of Clean Trucks, was rooted in trust and a shared interest in predictable and stable rules during the transition far from fossil fuels. It was not a regulation or a law; It was a collaboration: an experiment in handshake agreements that now looks like a warning story for regulators and communities everywhere: corporations can move away from agreements like this at the time when political winds change or the fall of quarterly profits.
The free demand for manufacturers comes together with a proposal reversion of the Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse gas standards and a Federal Surprise Commerce commission moves to condemn the association. The commission issued a statement Close an investigation He never publicly announced, after companies sent letters Playing the victim. Is it a surprise that Trump Federal lawyers jumped in days later To sue California along with truck manufacturers?
The consequences of breaking the agreement are real and devastating. Diesel freight contamination has a lot of time harder In low -income neighborhoods and color communities near ports, warehouses and cargo corridors, causing higher asthma rates, heart disease and cancer. Stiring the Association of Clean Trucks means more diesel trucks on California roads, more hospital visits and more lives are interrupted. It is an assault on environmental justice that tells Californians that their health is expendable.
And everyone pays. Delay the adoption fleets of the adoption of clean trucks in High and volatile diesel prices and undermines the competitiveness of the United States. The manufacturers themselves maintain that crisis by discouraging change to electric trucks: California has documented a $ 94,000 Marks in some electric trucks in the US. UU. Compared to Europe.
When a handful of corporations can derail public policy in this way, states must go back. California tried a commitment; Now you must defend your right to establish stronger standards, invest in clean infrastructure and refuse to subsidize companies that break their commitments.
California's leadership in clean transport has helped become the The fourth largest economy in the world. His authority to establish his own standards has promoted innovation, created jobs and put More vehicles of zero emissions on the road than in any other state. The public wants clean air and modern infrastructure. The choice is clear: to double the commitments of clean trucks or yield leadership to Porcelain And see that our industries and the economy are left behind.
A predictable market is essential for corporate investment in the energy transition. California negotiated this association to give manufacturers the certainty they said they needed and say that I still need. Now, some of those same manufacturers are adding uncertainty when trying to return to older standards and delay the transition. But it must come, and as soon as possible: for manufacturers, Californians and the nation.
There is still time to do the right thing. Truck manufacturers that broke their word can still step forward to electrify trucks. And manufacturers who have not joined the demand against California, Cummins, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, must publicly reaffirm the objectives of the Association of Clean Trucks, follow their commitments and harvest the rewards. If these companies choose to be with California now, they will not only honor a promise; They will help build an economy that creates good jobs, drives innovation and ensures a competitive future for US load.
Guillermo Ortiz is a clean vehicle defender in the Natural Resources Defense Council. Craig Segall is a former Deputy Executive Officer and main lawyer assistant of the California Air Resources Board.
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Ideas expressed in the piece
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Truck manufacturers signed by the 2023 clean truck association are involving political opportunism by supporting their commitments, taking advantage of the Trump administration support to weaken environmental protections and maintain their domain in the diesel market.
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The demand represents the corporate overreach that undermines democracy, since these companies are taking advantage of the political connections to write the rules that govern the economy of California and determine the levels of pollution in the state.
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Breaking the association agreement will have devastating consequences for environmental justice, particularly harming neighborhoods and low -income communities near the ports and load corridors facing higher asthma, heart disease and diesel pollution cancer.
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The manufacturers' decision to abandon the agreement creates market instability and undermines US competitiveness in clean transport technology, while maintaining artificially high prices for electric trucks compared to European markets.
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California must defend his authority to establish stronger emission standards and refuse to subsidize companies that break their commitments, since the state leadership in clean transport has helped become the fourth largest economy in the world.
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Companies that have not joined the demand must publicly reaffirm their commitments with the objectives of association of clean trucks and help build an economy that creates jobs, drives innovation and ensures the competitive future of the United States in cargo transport.
Different views on the subject
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Truck manufacturers argue that they are “trapped in crossfire” between the conflicting directives, and California requires adhesion to the emission rules, while the United States Department of Justice tells them to stop following the same standards as Congress recently advanced under the Federal Clean Air Law[1].
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The manufacturers argue that the Association of Clean Trucks is being applied to enforce the regulations that no longer have federal exemptions, after the approval of resolutions of the Congress under the Congress Review Law in June 2025 that annulled the previous exemptions of the EPA that allow California to implement key programs, including the advanced regulations regulations.[1].
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Industry representatives argue that the agreement includes provisions that limit the ability of manufacturers to dispute Carboh regulations[1].
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Some manufacturers are adopting a “wait and see” approach, with companies such as Isuzu that anticipate “a good faith discussion with car and other regulated signatories to determine the current scope and relevance of the agreement” instead of abandoning all commitments immediately.[2].
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Legal experts and former Carb officials argue that the association remains binding, regardless of federal changes, pointing out the language in the agreement that compromises manufacturers to comply with carb regulations “regardless of the result of any litigation that challenges exemptions or authorizations for those regulations”[2].
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Manufacturers express their concern about the lack of clarity about how to proceed with truck sales in California, and some companies such as Volvo Group choose to maintain their current sales policies “as they are for now”, while the regulatory situation remains uncertain[2].
