ATA pushes initiative to reduce carbon footprint

The American Trucking Assns. (ATA) has launched a new initiative, backed by a website, calling for six national recommendations to help the trucking industry reduce its carbon footprint, it announced at a press conference on May 8.

The ATA's plan, titled “Trucks Deliver a Cleaner Tomorrow” and detailed on trucksdeliver.org, presents the following recommendations to help eliminate CO₂ emissions:

• Limit speed governors on new trucks to a maximum of 68 mph and reduce the national speed limit to 65 for all vehicles.

• Reduce idling.

• Encourage participation in the EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership Program.

• Improve highways to reduce congestion, raising the fuel tax if necessary.

• Use more productive truck combinations.

• Support national fuel economy standards for trucks.

“ATA has committed itself to a series of measures that can reduce fuel consumption by 86 billion gallons and CO₂ emissions by 900 million tons for all vehicles over the next 10 years,” said ATA president and CEO Bill Graves. “Our proposals are practical, reasonable, and doable. They make environmental sense, and they make common sense.”

The report was developed by the ATA Sustainability Task Force, headed by Tommy Hodges, ATA vice chairman and chairman of Titan Transfer, Inc.