Electrifying Washington’s short-haul freight trucks will protect our climate and our health.
By Jaimini Parekh and Adrienne Hampton
When we talk about zero-emission transportation in Washington, we often focus on cars and public transit because they’re familiar to us. However, reducing pollution from goods movement and the impact it has on near-port communities is just as important, and critical for health equity.
Powered by diesel that spews noxious air pollutants, drayage trucks are often the oldest and dirtiest on the road. Their drivers typically earn lower wages compared with other industries, making it hard for them to earn enough to upgrade their vehicles. These trucks travel through near-port communities transporting Amazon packages, e-commerce deliveries, furniture, and all freight coming into ports. They deliver these goods to distribution hubs.
Pollution from short-haul trucks especially impacts the health of communities that live near to freight movement, causing respiratory diseases and cancer. Near-port communities face cumulative pollution burdens from the drayage sector, nearby ships, highways and distribution centers. The Duwamish Valley faces some of the highest diesel air toxics pollution levels in Washington State, and in the nation.
Drayage trucks are ideal candidates for electrification because they travel short distances, and can recharge during stops. However, electric trucks are expensive. Without financial incentives they are out of reach for most drivers.
Electrifying Washington’s fleet of short-haul freight trucks, known as drayage trucks, can improve air quality, benefit public health, reduce carbon emissions, center racial equity, and create a just transition for workers. Years of local advocacy by near-port communities to reduce freight-related pollution and freight-related burdens from seaports have finally put this goal within reach, with funding available through Washington’s Climate Commitment Act.
The Washington Legislature recognized the importance of electrifying the drayage fleet and wants to invest in this sector. The House Transportation Committee proposes to set aside $150 million over a two-year period in the 2023-2025 State Transportation Budget for incentives to electrify medium and heavy-duty trucks, which includes drayage trucks.
While $150 million sounds like a lot of money, this investment matches the approach taken by other states to tackle climate change. For fiscal year 2022-2023, California invested $2.6 billion in clean cars, trucks, and transportation. Of this total, California will invest $157 million solely to transition the drayage truck sector to zero-emission vehicles, in a single year.
As advocates for zero emission solutions and communities that are disproportionately exposed to diesel pollution from shipping, trucking and rail movement of goods, we support this investment and urge the legislature to do the same in the final budget. It will modernize freight movement, by minimizing the impact of freight movement on our environment.
However, in implementing this investment program, Washington must work with drayage drivers especially owner-operators in environmental justice communities—who often work long hours and earn low-wages. An electrified trucking solution must work for them financially to ensure a just transition for these drivers. Partnership led demonstration projects such as the Heavy-Duty Vehicle Incentive Pilot in the City of Seattle is one example of shovel-ready programs that center racial equity while ensuring the air-quality improvement from drayage truck electrification.
In Washington State, transportation emissions are the largest producer of greenhouse gases, accounting for nearly-half of our state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Heavy-duty diesel vehicles are the largest source of diesel exhaust in our state, which contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and degrades our air quality. Diesel vehicles alone contribute nearly 9% of the total statewide greenhouse gas emissions. Moving towards a just transition by electrifying trucks would substantially reduce carbon emissions in Washington State while also improving air quality in near-port communities.
Jaimini Parekh is a senior attorney at Earthjustice. Adrienne Hampton is the climate policy and engagement manager for the Duwamish River Community Coalition.