The Biden-Harris Zero-Emissions Freight Strategy: Tilting at Windmills
28 mins ago Charles Rotter 4 Comments
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/04/24/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-sets-first-ever-national-goal-of-zero-emissions-freight-sector-announces-nearly-1-5-billion-to-support-transition-to-zero-emission-heavy-duty-vehicles/#:~:text=This%20new%20commitment%20to%20zero,the%20transportation%20sector%20by%202050The Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement of a national goal to establish a zero-emissions freight sector, alongside a hefty allocation of nearly $1.5 billion for the transition to zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles, presents a textbook case of policy driven more by ideological ambition than by practical realities. This plan not only assumes a smooth technological transition but also purports to address environmental justice concerns, all under the guise of achievable, near-future targets. A deeper analysis, however, reveals a series of fundamentally flawed assumptions and misdirected priorities that merit a critical examination.
The strategy to overhaul the entire freight sector to zero emissions rests on a precarious assumption that the requisite technology is just around the corner. However, the reality of zero-emissions technology in heavy-duty freight—spanning trucks, trains, and ships—is far from ready for widespread deployment. Electric trucks, for example, are still grappling with severe limitations in range and load capacity, not to mention the monumental infrastructure challenges associated with nationwide charging stations, which must somehow proliferate across the vast American landscape within a couple of decades.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/04/27/the-biden-harris-zero-emissions-freight-strategy-a-quest-for-environmental-justice/
