posted on 2023-12-18, 19:34authored byWilson
H. McNeil, Fan Tong, Robert A. Harley, Maximilian Auffhammer, Corinne D. Scown
Electrifying freight
trucks will be key to alleviating air pollution
burdens on disadvantaged communities and mitigating climate change.
The United States plans to pursue this aim by adding vehicle charging
infrastructure along specific freight corridors. This study explores
the coevolution of the electricity grid and freight trucking landscape
using an integrated assessment framework to identify when each interstate
and drayage corridor becomes advantageous to electrify from a climate
and human health standpoint. Nearly all corridors achieve greenhouse
gas emission reductions if electrified now. Most can reduce health
impacts from air pollution if electrified by 2040 although some corridors
in the Midwest, South, and Mid-Atlantic regions remain unfavorable
to electrify from a human health standpoint, absent policy support.
Recent policy, namely, the Inflation Reduction Act, accelerates this
timeline to 2030 for most corridors and results in net human health
benefits on all corridors by 2050, suggesting that near-term investments
in truck electrification, particularly drayage corridors, can meaningfully
reduce climate and health burdens.