October 22-28, 2022
In this week's issue:
- UN Report Finds “No Credible Pathway” to 1.5°C (October 27, 2022)
- NACAA Comments, Testifies on CARB Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation (October 27, 2022)
- CASAC Releases Draft Report on Review of EPA’s Integrated Science Assessment in Reconsideration of Ozone NAAQS (October 25, 2022)
- EPA Issues PM2.5 Limited Maintenance Plan Guidance (October 27, 2022)
- EPA Designates New Federal Equivalent Method for Continuous PM2.5 Monitoring (October 28, 2022)
- Gasoline and Biofuel Industry Groups Challenging Reinstatement of California Waiver File Opening Brief in D.C. Circuit (October 24, 2022)
- EPA Awards Nearly $1 Billion Under Clean School Bus Program (October 26, 2022)
This Week in Review
A new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has concluded that there is no current credible pathway to limiting global warming to 1.5°C given existing pledges and actions by the nations of the world, and that the existing reduction pledges are “woefully inadequate.” The report, “The Closing Window: Climate Crisis Calls For Rapid Transformation Of Societies,” comes two weeks before the kickoff of the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. It finds that current emission pathways place global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at 58 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent (Gt CO2e) by 2030, and that limiting 2030 emissions to 43 Gt CO2e would give a 66 percent chance of limiting global warming to 2°C, while an emission level of 35 Gt CO2e in 2030 would provide a 66 percent chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C. Emission reduction pledges made since the last climate summit, COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland in 2021, will lead to cuts of just 0.5 Gt CO2e, UNEP calculated. As it stands today, the latest data indicates that the world is on track for a temperature rise of 2.8°C by the end of this century, with 2.4°C warming in the best case scenario where all countries deliver on the most ambitious scale of the targets they have pledged. UNEP found that in 2021, GHG emissions levels were similar to, or even higher than, 2019 levels, raising concerns that emissions reductions of all major GHGs induced by the pandemic were short-lived. UNEP determined that the top seven emitters are responsible for 55 percent of emissions, with the U.S. the number two emitter overall and the number one emitter per capita. The report notes the passage of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S. has been the most significant single step toward a major emission reduction worldwide since the Glasgow meeting, but that it will still only get the United States about 80 percent of the way to its current pledge to cut emissions. The UNEP report said about a third of GHG emissions came from the global food system and these were set to double by 2050, but that the sector could be transformed if governments changed farm subsidies. It also identified transformation of financial systems as a necessary and essential enabling policy, redirecting global financial flows to green investments. This transformation to a low-emissions economy is expected to need at least $4tn-6tn a year in investment, the report said, about 2 percent of global financial assets. The report concludes that “incremental change is no longer an option: broad-based economy-wide transformations are required to avoid closing the window of opportunity to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably 1.5°C. Every fraction of a degree matters.”
For further information: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/10/1129912
NACAA submitted comments to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in support of the state’s proposed Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) Regulation. The proposed regulation includes four components: three sets of fleet requirements – for state and local government fleets, drayage trucks and high-priority and federal fleets – and a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales requirement on all medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) truck manufacturers. beginning in 2040. If adopted, the proposed regulation will contribute to the state’s achievement of its criteria pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals and cleaner technology targets. The ACF Regulation will accelerate widespread adoption of ZEVs by requiring certain fleet purchases to be entirely ZEVs beginning in 2024; phasing in additional fleet ZEV purchase requirements; and setting a clear end date of 2040 for the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles broadly for use in affected fleets, thereby establishing a 100-percent ZEV sales requirement for all MHD trucks starting with MY 2040. This regulation will build upon CARB’s Advanced Clean Trucks Regulation and serve as the next substantial step toward a zero-emission (ZE) future in California, including a ZE transportation system and increased equity for disadvantaged communities. The ACF Regulation would have positive impacts on the availability of clean vehicle technologies and ZE MDH vehicles in a way that aligns with NACAA’s long-advocated goals for nationwide emission reductions from MHD trucks. In its comments, NACAA explains its commitment to ensuring reductions from numerous categories in the mobile source sector and its current efforts continuing to urge EPA to adopt, by the end of this year, rigorous federal standards to reduce criteria pollutant emissions from MHD trucks, to take effect with the 2027 model year. NACAA goes on to articulate some of the compelling needs for these federal standards. NACAA observes that CARB’s proposed ACF Regulation will immediately put in place another key step forward in addressing transportation-related emissions of criteria pollutants and GHGs in California and allow states that choose to individually exercise their right of self-determination under section 177 of the Clean Air Act to join California in adopting the final ACF Regulation or any of its four individual components. On this point, NACAA states its continued support for California’s statutory authority under Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 209 to adopt and enforce mobile source programs and the authority of other states across the nation, under Section 177 of the CAA, to adopt and enforce their own locally beneficial programs based on CARB’s standards. The association also notes that the ACF Regulation – like many California mobile source regulations – could serve as a solid template for EPA should it pursue a federal clean fleets rule. Also on October 27, 2022, Tracy Babbidge (CT), Co-Chair of the NACAA Mobile Sources and Fuels Committee, testified on behalf of the association at CARB’s public hearing on the proposed ACF Regulation.
For further information:
https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/NACAA_Comments-CARB_Proposed_ACF_Reg-102622lh.pdf
The Ozone Review Panel of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) released a draft report on its review and discussion of scientific issues from “EPA’s Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants (Final Report – April 2020).” Preparation by the Panel of this report relates to EPA’s ongoing reconsideration, based on the existing scientific record, of the agency’s 2020 decision to retain the 2015 ozone NAAQS without modification. The 108-page draft includes a five-page cover letter overviewing highlights of conclusions drawn from the review, a detailed explanation of consensus responses to points of discussion on the ISA and individual comments from members of the Panel. Among the issues highlighted in the cover letter are whether exceptional events have been included in or excluded from the ozone design values and ozone concentration trends presented; the insufficiency of information “to adequately differentiate or differentially weight lines of evidence from observational and controlled human exposure (CHE) studies examining ozone health effects”; the inadequate discussion of exposure concentrations in the 2020 ISA and previous ISAs; the need for better justification of the Population, Exposure, Comparison, Outcome, and Study design framework used for study inclusion and exclusion; and causal relationships. The draft report will be reviewed by the CASAC Ozone Review Panel at a meeting scheduled for November 14-15, 2022.
For further information:
https://casac.epa.gov/ords/sab/f?p=113:19:11909973047537:::RP,19:P19_ID:979#draft
and https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-10-05/pdf/2022-21596.pdf
EPA posted on its website “Guidance on the Limited Maintenance Plan Option for Moderate PM2.5 Nonattainment Areas and PM2.5 Maintenance Areas” (PM2.5 LMP Guidance), which (unless otherwise stated) applies for any existing and future PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Under this new guidance, the “2001 PM10 LMP Option for Moderate PM10 Nonattainment Areas” (PM10 LMP Option) is made available for state and local air agencies to consider when developing a PM2.5 LMP. In particular, the new guidance explains that Moderate PM2.5 nonattainment areas or existing PM2.5 maintenance areas that meet the stated criteria may demonstrate maintenance for purposes of Clean Air Act section 175A using the 2001 PM10 LMP Option, as described in the guidance; the method for exercising this option is also described. In addition, the guidance includes information on transportation conformity and general conformity requirements in areas that are considering a PM2.5 LMP.
For further information:
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-10/420b22044.pdf and https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/implementation-national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-fine-particulate-matter
EPA announced in the Federal Register (87 Fed. Reg. 65,203) that it has designated a new federal equivalent method (FEM) for measuring concentrations of particulate matter in the 2.5-micron range (PM2.5) in the ambient air. The new method is the “Ambilabs Model 2WIN PM2.5 FEM monitor,” a continuous ambient particle analyzer utilizing an optically based measurement principle. As a designated FEM, the monitor is deemed acceptable for use by state and local air monitoring agencies for determining compliance with the PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards, when used in accordance with the operation or instruction manual.
For further information: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-10-28/pdf/2022-23524.pdf
The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers and other gasoline and biofuels industry groups told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that EPA lacks authority under Section 209 of the Clean Air to grant a waiver to California for emission standards aimed at tackling global climate change. In their joint brief in cases challenging EPA’s reinstatement of the waiver of federal preemption for California’s light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards and zero emission vehicle (ZEV) sales mandate, the industry groups argue that CAA Section 209(b) only authorizes exemptions for standards that address local conditions in California that result from local emissions and pollution concentrations; “global climate change does not qualify.” Citing the recent Supreme Court decision in West Virginia v. EPA, the groups argue that construing Section 209(b) to authorize California to regulate global climate change would raise issues of vast political and economic significance, and therefore requires a clear statement from Congress authorizing such a waiver, which they assert the Clean Air Act does not provide. Further, they argue that California does not “need” its own emission standards to address global climate change conditions that those standards will not meaningfully address. “Congress did not, and could not, authorize California, alone among 50 states, to assume a role as a junior-varsity EPA and attempt to solve national and international issues like climate change. Any mandate to shift the Nation’s automobile fleet to electric vehicles in an effort to address global climate change must come from Congress – not from federal agencies, and certainly not from a single state,” the petitioners assert. EPA’s reinstatement of the California waiver is also being challenged by seventeen states, which filed their opening brief on October 24 (see related article in the October 15-21 Washington Update).
For further information: https://www.4cleanair.org/wp-content/uploads/Ohio-v.-EPA-Private-Petitioners-Brief-10-24-22.pdf
EPA has announced that it is providing nearly $1 billion under the FY 2022 Clean School Bus Program rebate competition to 389 school districts across the country, including districts in 50 states, Washington, DC, Tribal lands and territories. The grants range in size from $30,000 to $9.9 million. According to EPA, the program will allow school districts to procure over 2,400 clean school buses and replace older vehicles, thus speeding up the transition to zero emission vehicles, resulting in cleaner air around schools and communities and reducing greenhouse gases. The funding was made available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), adopted in November 2021. EPA announced in May 2022 the availability of $500 million for the Clean School Bus Program. However, following overwhelming demand from around the country, the agency nearly doubled the amount available to $965 million. School districts had until August to apply for funding. The Clean School Bus Program under the BIL provides $5 billion over five years, which will include another $1-billion program for FY 2023. EPA has announced that it is working on the next round of grant-competition funding and will provide details in the next few months.
For further information:
https://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/awarded-clean-school-bus-program-rebates and
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-10/List-of-CSB-Rebate-FY2022-Selectees-Final.pdf