RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina roads could get a little cleaner and a little quieter in the next few years.
Gov. Roy Cooper Tuesday outlined his administration's plan for an "advanced clean trucks" rule that would promote the transition of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to zero-emission electric vehicles. That would include tractor trailers, school buses, delivery vans and garbage and utility trucks owned by local and state governments and the private sector.
"These vehicles make up only 3.2% of vehicles on the highway. Yet 26% of the nitrogen oxide is emitted and 32% of the particulate matter come from them, because they're big diesel engines that spew out pollution," Cooper told reporters. "So this is a great area for us to concentrate [on], because there are fewer vehicles that we have to deal with, but you do more in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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