This summer marked a turning point for the trucking industry’s role in America’s environmental future. After years of battling misguided, top-down mandates from California regulators, common sense prevailed, freeing fleets, manufacturers, and drivers to pursue real, sustainable progress in reducing emissions.
For too long, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) attempted to dictate national policy by isolating industries, coercing manufacturers, and imposing one-size-fits-all solutions. The 2023 Clean Truck Partnership (CTP) was a prime example: a regulatory straitjacket that sought to strip companies of their rights, destabilize supply chains, and force fleets down an uneconomic path toward electric trucks that were unready for prime time.
That chapter is now closed. In a bipartisan victory for both the environment and the economy, Congress and President Trump revoked California’s special waivers and reaffirmed that EPA—not Sacramento—sets America’s emissions standards. With that, the CTP collapsed, restoring a level playing field and clearing the way for the trucking industry to continue advancing proven, practical solutions.
And the wins didn’t stop there. This summer, truck manufacturers including Daimler, International, Paccar, and Volvo formally walked away from the CTP, rejecting coercion and recommitting to working with their customers on technologies that actually work. This decision is already paying dividends: carriers once again have confidence that their investments in equipment will be grounded in sound science and market realities.
While CARB clings to ideology, the trucking industry continues to deliver results:
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Clean Diesel Leadership: Thanks to decades of innovation, today’s trucks are 99% cleaner for particulate matter and NOx emissions than those built decades ago. Sixty new trucks today emit as much as just one truck did in 1988.
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SmartWay Success: Since 2004, the EPA’s voluntary SmartWay program has helped carriers save more than four billion gallons of fuel, reduce 379 million barrels of oil consumption, and slash carbon emissions, all without mandates.
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Phase 1 & 2 Standards: Supported by ATA, these commonsense fuel efficiency regulations are projected to reduce oil consumption by 2.5 billion barrels, saving the industry $220 billion in fuel costs between 2014 and 2027 and cutting CO2 emissions by 1.37 billion metric tons.
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Promising Alternatives: Renewable diesel is already proving to reduce lifecycle carbon emissions more effectively than electric trucks at a fraction of the cost and without the infrastructure challenges.
Other Major Wins for Trucking and the Environment
The summer of 2025 also delivered two other big victories for environmental progress:
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Proposed Repeal of the Federal EV Truck Mandate: The Biden-era “Phase 3” rule would have forced fleets into electric trucks regardless of cost or feasibility. Its proposed repeal, if enacted, will be a victory for common sense. This decision ensures that emissions standards are based on what’s achievable and effective, not political ideology.
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Fixing Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) Guidance: EPA’s move to address DEF system failures was another example of practical policymaking. Previously, these failures could trigger dramatic engine derates, stranding trucks and disrupting supply chains. We’re thankful to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for recognizing the problem and delivering a solution that keeps trucks moving while protecting the environment.
The message from this summer is clear: when government respects the role of markets, innovation, and collaboration, the trucking industry delivers. Environmental progress does not come from coercion or ideology. It comes from empowering fleets and manufacturers to do what they’ve always done: drive America forward with cleaner, more efficient technology.
As we turn the page on the CTP and California’s failed experiment in government expansionism, we remain committed to protecting the environment, strengthening the economy, and ensuring that common sense rather than bureaucratic overreach guides us forward.