Using Remote Sensing to Reduce Heavy-Duty Truck Emissions in California

Particulate matter (PM) pollution presents a substantial threat to human health, disproportionately impacting low-income populations. Heavy-duty trucks are major sources of PM but enforcing truck emissions regulations has proven prohibitively costly. We propose utilizing novel remote sensing technology to detect high-emitting trucks at low cost. We are partnering with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), an air quality regulator, to leverage this technology in two complementary randomized trials to measure its impact on regulatory compliance, emissions, emissions leakage, and enforcement costs, which will enable us to identify the most cost-effective approach to regulatory enforcement.