Clean trucks, clean communities: Changing the rules of global trade

The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy is a member of the Coalition for Clean & Safe Ports (CCSP), an alliance of environmental, labor, faith-based, community and public-health organizations working to promote sustainable trade at the Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports. A major campaign of CCSP has been to urge the Ports to reduce the diesel truck emissions and improve conditions for truck drivers. March 2008, the City of Los Angeles adopted its Clean Trucks Program, a core piece of the Clean Air Action Plan the first joint air plan developed between the City of Los Angeles and its neighbor, the City of Long Beach. With this Program in place, the City of Los Angeles has begun to meet its goals of retrofitting 16,000 diesel trucks in order to meet the 2007 federal EPA standards by 2012. To date, 6,200 clean trucks are operating at the ports, including approximately 400 alternative fuel trucks. Thus far, the program has resulted in 70% reduction in harmful emissions when compared to 2007 data. Despite its early success, full implementation of the Clean Trucks program in Southern California as well as across the country faces economic and political challenges. This presentation will discuss the Clean Trucks Program, highlight the lessons learned from the campaign and policy in Southern California, and identify the challenges of the Program and how communities and local government might overcome these in order to implement the Program in other cities.