| |
Canada's trucking industry unveils clean air plan
By Brittani Tingle
The Canadian Trucking Alliance, a federation of Canada’s provincial trucking associations, last week unveiled a 14-point plan to drastically reduce smog and greenhouse gas emissions.
According to CTA, enacting the measures would yield the air quality equivalent of removing more than 200,000 trucks from the road.
The federation's CEO, David Bradley, said the trucking industry “shares its workplace with the public” and takes its environmental responsibility seriously.
As part of the plan, CTA urges the federal government to give tax incentives to trucking companies that adopt new smog-reducing technology.
This fall will introduce new engines that are required by law to reduce the emission of particulate matter, a major contributor to smog linked to respiratory illness, by 90 percent. In addition, ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel, which reduces the sulphur content of truck diesel from 500 to 15 parts per million, will be introduced.
The CTA is also proposing measures to increase the installation of auxiliary power units to reduce truck idling and is calling upon ministers of transportation from across the country to endorse a proposal requiring the speed limiters on all trucks to be set at no more than 105 kilometers per hour.
Quebec recently included a similar measure in its plan on climate change, and Transport Canada is currently studying the idea in Ontario.
In addition, the federation suggests increasing the use of single, wide-base tires, which offer significant fuel savings, but which are currently restricted to certain truck weights and dimensions based on standards developed in the 1980s. The same standards also act as an obstacle to incorporating non-payload aerodynamic improvements and other vehicle design enhancements.
The plan also calls upon governments to define which biodiesel blends are being considered for trucks, to run joint pilot programs to ensure that operational concerns associated with using biodiesel in the new trucks in Canadian conditions are addressed, and to introduce and enforce stringent quality, manufacturing and testing standards before considering a mandate for biodiesel use in commercial trucks.
Finally, CTA is proposing that other freight modes – rail, marine and air – should be subject to the same type of fuel and engine emissions standards as trucks.
|
|
