Electric Trucks Could Make a ‘Significant Dent’ In Carbon Emissions

Electric trucks have the potential to displace enough oil to make a “significant dent” in transportation sector CO2 emissions, per a Rhodium Group analysis. Axios reports: There’s lots of buzz — and a lot of money — around electric trucks these days. It estimates the long-term effects of a recent 15-state nonbinding pact (PDF) to bolster the use of zero-emissions heavy trucks and other medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
California, one of the states, also recently approved mandatory regulations on greatly increasing zero-emissions truck sales between 2024 and 2045. The study also explores the impact if these state efforts were transformed into a nationwide mandate, which would mean more than half the U.S. medium- and heavy-duty fleet would be electric by 2045. “If the [15-state] MOU were expanded nationally, the impact would increase six-fold. By 2035, cumulative oil demand would fall by 806 to 843 million barrels, expanding to 4.6 to 4.9 billion barrels by 2045,” Rhodium finds. “The long-term effect of expanding California’s approach nationally would reduce oil consumption in 2045 by 16 to 17%,” the Aug. 13 analysis notes.