You may recall how the United States Postal Service is actively undermining the Biden administration’s net-zero emissions goal by purchasing more fossil-fuel-powered delivery vehicles. Now, various environmental groups and 16 states have sued the Postal Service over its fleet procurement decision.
This lawsuit follows months of public pressure – which SEEC helped lead the charge on – to convince USPS to change course. Unfortunately, the agency has chosen to stick to its flawed plan, leading to this lawsuit.
The lawsuit accuses Postmaster General DeJoy of using deeply flawed techniques on the USPS’ environmental analysis that underpinned the current fleet order. It claims that the analysis inflated the cost of electric vehicle batteries to justify the lack of clean energy trucks in the fleet purchase. It also underestimated the mileage per charge for electric vehicles, as well as the gas prices – estimating the cost to be $2.19 per gallon.
The lawsuit filing concludes that the environmental analysis is so flawed that it failed to meet the basic standards of the National Environmental Policy Act.
We all know that electric vehicles are a key component to reaching our nation’s carbon emissions goals. It’s vital that we continue the transition to zero-emission vehicles that will clean up our air and help protect us from the climate crisis at every opportunity available. But Postmaster General DeJoy, a Trump-administration holdover, clearly is choosing to disregard climate change and even the laws in the books.
SEEC members understand what’s at stake and are pushing for sustainable recovery policies that will help support the continued adoption of zero-emission electric vehicles. And they will also push back against those who seek to impede progress on these vital goals.
Will you chip in to support our SEEC members and their fight for a sustainable future?