• Skip to main content

Levinson and Stefani Injury Lawyers

Client-first legal representation for injury victims. Injured? Free Consultation:

(312) 376-3812

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Attorneys
      • Ken Levinson
      • Jay Stefani
      • Vanessa A. Gebka
    • Practice Areas
      • Truck Crashes
      • Bus Collisions
      • Auto Accidents
      • Child Injuries
  • Firm News
  • Library
    • Articles
    • Cases
    • Law
    • Video
  • Blog
  • For Lawyers
    • Focus Groups
  • Free Case Review

carbon emissions

The Future of Environmental Responsibility in the Trucking Industry

November 2, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“Lots of people look at sustainability through different lenses,” said American Trucking Associations’ energy and environmental affairs counsel, Glen Kedzie. “Some look at it as addressing climate change, reducing carbon emissions; others are more expansive in their view of it.”

Industry experts at ATA’s Management Conference and Exhibition discussed the methods of addressing sustainability in transportation. Trucking, in particular, has been facing a lot of pressure to step up to environmental governance, according to Kedzie–although he noted that the supply chain needs particular focus.

“It’s not just from trucks,” he said. “You have to look at what happens coming up to the truck level and then after the truck level. The supply chain can be responsible for up to five times the greenhouse gas emissions [as much] than from just one singular source [or] from an individual company.”

Some federal and state regulations are in the works, such as truck-specific regulatory standards created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Kedzie added that trucking companies should be aware of these potential rules that will urge for lower emissions from all commercial vehicles sooner than later.

“We have the EPA Phase 3 rule,” he said. “They will set the carbon metrics so low–without mentioning any technology path, that the only way that you’ll be able to achieve those standards will be to buy a battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell or renewable diesel vehicle.”

Because the supply chain creates so much of our carbon emissions, investors and environmental organizations have a laser-focus on their operations, Kedzie explained–in fact, 90% of carbon dioxide emissions throughout the entire country are a product of the trucking industry.

“Climate change is a major driver [of this attention],” he said. “But, there [are] a lot of other drivers that are making leads as businesses consider sustainability. The public image is very important to all of us here in this room.”

Kedzie also explained that the industry can indeed make money by becoming more environmentally friendly.

“Profitability can go hand-in-hand with sustainability. There are lots of legal considerations you have to take into account. There’s lots of litigation across the country,” he said.

Still, the trucking industry has made so many progressive changes and has made clear its vital role in the American economy, added Daimler Trucks North America’s vice president of product compliance and regulatory affairs, Sean Waters.

“Heavy-duty trucks make life better,” he said. “Heavy-duty trucks save lives–and this industry has been an unquestioned partner working with the EPA, working with California, on top [of complying with] enforceable emissions regulations for decades.”

This has, indeed, made a difference, Waters added.

“[That effort] has led to cleaner air,” he said. “It led to a reduction in CO2.”

Additionally, younger drivers entering the industry have more progressive expectations when it comes to sustainability, and trucking will have to step up in order to keep them interested–especially given the current truck driver shortage.

“It’s not a passing fad,” said Kedzie. “You’re going to be playing in this space. If you aren’t playing in this space, you will have to play in this space because everyone is wanting fleets to be more accountable.”

Environmental justice is also a primary concern for the Biden administration, which means there will be many more environmentally-aligned regulations in the works–which will be in addition to current investor and consumer pressure, Kedzie said.

“Shippers want to become greener,” he explained. “We have shareholders that are putting on pressure. They want to know where investments are being made. They want to see if those investments account for the use of green fuels and green technologies. We have Wall Street pushing back on us hard. We have lenders pushing back on us hard. We have the insurance industry pushing back on us hard.”

At the end of the day, most carbon emissions are coming from older trucks, and as new trucks are made to be more sustainable, fleets will begin saving more funds on overall fuel consumption, as well, Waters noted.

“Trucks are the backbone of our economy,” he said. The trucks that we build are safer today–cleaner today–than they’ve ever been, and we need to start by recognizing the positive contributions we’ve made before we start talking about the next round of regulations and before we talk about trucks being the problem.”

Shipping Emissions Rise Again During Pandemic-Caused E-Commerce Boom

October 15, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“Global trade is growing, and that means emissions will come up from transport,” said head of agricultural trading company Cargill Inc., Jan Dieleman. “Container fleet is speeding up, so emissions from that sector are going to be up, not down.”

Emissions in general are rising rapidly once again following the ever-increasing e-commerce orders brought about by the pandemic. With more people than ever heading online to buy their household items, clothing, and just about everything else, more and more fuel is burning with the heavy demand on container fleets.

Additionally, we’re in the midst of a natural gas shortage as these shipping emissions numbers meet new heights. Electricity production is turning toward further fuel oil and coal usage, even though the sector previously predicted emissions would be much lower this year than in 2020.

For Cargill, the company regularly brings in hundreds of vessels to meet the demand of the maritime industry, and while doing so, works to monitor fuel consumption and emissions numbers as accurately as possible. The shipping industry itself is a bigger source of carbon emissions than many realize–the American shipping industry releases more carbon than the United Kingdom and France combined.

The industry has pledged to cut this emissions in half by the year 2050, even while global trade continues to grow. 

According to Dieleman, COVID-19 has caused further employee shortages that is leading to port congestion and heavily delaying container loading and unloading processes. Some freight trade companies have begun shipping their loads in bulk products instead of in regular containers, he added, noting that freight shipping activity is “back to the heydays.”

Additionally, although commodity shipments (including shipments of coal) are expected to remain steady into 2022 and coal trade will likely boom when China lifts import restrictions during the winter, energy prices are skyrocketing, and emissions will likely not become as bad as they were at the worst around 2008. This is due to so many industries currently being focused on efficiency and fuel-saving technology–especially within the supply chains.

The International Maritime Organization aims to reduce emissions pollution as quickly as it can, but is still working out the process of doing so as the organization only has oversight regarding shipments at sea and not the entire emissions life cycle. Some potential solutions include a carbon dioxide tax as well as a research and development fund of $5 billion. IMO also announced its intention to restart discussions surrounding potential market-based measures in a formal capacity–a carbon market-adjacent initiative.

Industry experts are also looking to a possible increase in tanker recovery sooner than later as the pandemic’s effects lessen, a likely change from the current dry freight boom that continues on–especially as people once again begin spending money on experiences, outings, and travel once again. As of now, the shipping industry hasn’t been ordering sufficient numbers of ships, and still needs clear emissions standards in order for new investments to come in.

“If you are a ship owner and you want to add capacity, what are you going to buy?” Dieleman asked. “What technology are you going to buy? Who is going to finance you and under what [kinds] of conditions? So, we’ve seen very little ordering the dry bulk.”

He explained that right now, the outlook of the industry’s short-term future is clear.

“If you take a little bit of growth in global trade going forward and the number of ships coming to the water, you have a pretty constrictive picture.”

Because IMO works globally and must take into account all intentions and interests from countries across the globe, the potential new carbon market has seen little progress. The United States’ industry often looks to that of the European Union, which has recently announced its goal in including shipping within its Emissions Trading Scheme.

“To some extent, it would be great if it’s all regulated globally, but I think the issue you’re going to have is that it’s not going to go fast enough,” Dieleman added. “It’s going to be probably the lowest denominator. And why would you not let certain jurisdictions go more aggressive?”

Levinson and Stefani Injury Lawyers in Chicago / Attorney Advertising