Medium- and heavy-duty trucks are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. Yet California’s policies to phase out fossil fuel-powered trucks in favor of zero-emission models have been undermined by recent federal actions, including a congressional vote to terminate California’s mandate on truck makers to produce zero-emission models and a rollback of many federal tax incentives for these vehicles. Furthermore, in January 2025 the state withdrew from U.S. EPA consideration its proposed mandate for major fleets to purchase zero-emission trucks.

To identify new state policies to increase demand for zero-emission trucks, UC Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) and the UCLA Law Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment are releasing the new report “Driving Demand: Solutions To Increase The Market for Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles.” Based on a convening of a select group of stakeholders and experts, the report offers recommendations for state and federal policy makers, as well as industry leaders. Some key recommendations include:

• The California Legislature could create a “Clean Miles Standard” for freight, which would require shippers to meet a certain percentage of the miles their goods travel to be via clean technologies, like heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles.
• The California Air Resources Board could create a statewide Indirect Source Rule under the Clean Air Act, which would regulate facilities like ports and warehouses that generate pollution indirectly by attracting mobile sources of emissions like trucks and then require emission reductions from that vehicle traffic.
• The California Legislature could create revenue neutral, self-funding incentive programs for heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles, in which fees on non-zero-emission vehicles fund rebates for zero-emission vehicles. 
• The California Legislature could exempt heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles from the state sales tax or ensure they are taxed no more than their diesel-counterparts to bolster the early adoption of heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles and enhance market competitiveness.
• The California Legislature and Department of Motor Vehicles could equalize registration fees to ensure that zero-emission trucks do not pay more for registration than diesel trucks, based on their purchase price and vehicle weight, among other factors. 
• Ports could create incentive programs for zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles, such as by providing green lanes, preferential reservation, or reduced fees for zero-emission vehicles.
• Industry leaders and advocates could address mis- and disinformation through trusted messengers who share success stories with fleets, shippers, and policymakers.

This report is the latest release in the Climate Change & Business Research Initiative, a collaboration between CLEE and UCLA Law’s Emmett Institute on Climate Change & the Environment. Since 2009, initiative leaders have published a series of policy papers and organized multiple events on how climate change will create opportunities for specific sectors of the business community and how policymakers can facilitate those opportunities.

Download the report.