Eliminating 50% of US Carbon Emissions by 2030?
Eliminating 50% of US Carbon Emissions by 2030?
Carriers are shivering at the news. The Biden administration announced a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions to half of their 2005 levels by 2030. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said “The transportation sector is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases in our economy – which means it can and must be a big part of the climate solution.” California has long led the way to setting fuel economy standards for vehicles. In fact, for older re-powered trucks, no truck engine serial number older than MY 2010 can be licensed in the state according to the California Air Resources Board – that goes by the acronym CARB. Everybody will need to get on board to make this goal a reality. Even shampoo and detergent manufacturers are encouraging customers to take shorter showers and wash clothes in cold water. Colgate-Palmolive suggests not running the tap while brushing your teeth. L’Oréal wants you to buy a solid bar of shampoo that will rinse out of your hair more quickly. (1)
In 2020, the pandemic shuttered the economy and trucks as well as cars stayed parked. Those draconian moves cut carbon emissions by 5.8% - the steepest decline since WWII. Electricity generation actually is the largest target for emissions reductions of 76%, according to the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory. Transport is targeted to cut 40%, Industry 16% and Buildings 18%. Today, Texas generates over 50% of its electricity from wind, an effort that was started years ago by then Governor Rick Perry who created the transmission infrastructure to bring the wind energy from West Texas to the population hubs in the eastern part of the state. Nationwide, 8.9% of US power generation is nuclear with 56 operating power plants in 26 states. Illinois has the most with 11 plants generating 54% of its electricity in 2019. Fossil Fuel Consumption is 78.4% and renewable energy comprised 12.7% of total consumption in 2020. (2)
Before you get your first electric truck, CyntrX can help you reduce your carbon footprint in several ways that will also save money. Excessive fuel consumption is the first sign of vehicle health and consumption will increase long before the Check Engine light comes on. We can monitor the fuel burned by the engine and report DTC codes in real time to the fleet manager. We can add data driven maintenance services that allow optimum fleet performance. Our Xtra Platform not only tracks your vehicles in real time but shows drivers real time traffic on their mobile device as well as speed limits by street. CyntrX can also track mileage by state for IFTA Fuel Tax compliance with no driver input. Our CyntrX Pro ELD software can track Hours of Service and integrate with Project 44 at no charge to give real time position data to shippers and brokers without expensive EDI connections. California Governor Gavin Newsome has asked CARB to draw up requirements that all new passenger cars and drayage trucks sold in the state be zero-emissions by 2035 and even heavy-duty trucks be zero emission by 2045. (3) CyntrX will be with you every step of the way, managing your fleet, monitoring the OBD bus and assuring your compliance – and showing you where and when to charge up!
1. “Companies Ask Their Customers to Help Them Cut Emissions.” Saabira Chaudhuri, The Wall Street Journal, March 29,2021