Ships and trucks targeted in California’s latest pollution directives

Ships and trucks are at the centre of California’s latest pollution-cutting measures. The state’s Air Resources Board brought in new rules yesterday that will create stringent emissions standards for diesel trucks, and require more ships docked at ports to plug into electric power or use scrubbers. The new rules will take effect from 2023.

The new ship pollution measures will reduce the cancer risk for about 2.4m residents living around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the Air Resources Board claimed yesterday.

The new trucking standards, meanwhile, would reduce allowable emissions of nitrogen oxides from new trucks by 90% by 2027, which the board claims is the equivalent of taking 16m cars off the road.

Both measures have come in for attack as regionalising the emissions debate – and potentially putting California’s gateway status in danger.