Southern California’s busiest ports face pressure to electrify cargo operations, but residents say the new air district proposal won’t clean the air fast enough after decades of harm.
Alejandra Reyes-Velarde reports for CalMatters.
In short:
- The South Coast Air Quality Management District released a draft rule requiring the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to submit plans by 2027 for building charging and fueling stations to meet zero-emissions goals.
- Residents near the ports report decades of health problems, including asthma and cancer, and say the proposed timeline is too slow to address the public health crisis.
- With California dropping statewide clean-truck mandates under pressure from the Trump administration, advocates say local regulators must now act more aggressively to reduce emissions.
Key quote:
“You think it’s normal, that it happens in all the communities, but once you leave your community to a nicer area, you just automatically feel better breathing that air. And I’m like, OK, this is environmental racism. Why is this happening in my community?”
— Beatriz Reyes, resident of West Long Beach
Why this matters:
The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, responsible for moving nearly 40% of U.S. container imports, are vital to the economy, yet they remain two of the dirtiest air polluters in the nation. Every day, thousands of diesel trucks, locomotives, and massive cargo ships spew exhaust into the air over nearby communities — many of them low-income and Latino — where rates of asthma and cardiovascular disease far outpace national averages. For generations, families have lived under this cloud, often with little say in the decisions shaping their environment.
Now, a collision is brewing between local clean-air mandates and federal supply chain interests. The Biden-era push toward electrification and zero-emission targets is meeting new headwinds under the Trump administration, while Southern California regulators face lawsuits and industry lobbying. Meanwhile, residents in places like Wilmington and West Long Beach continue to bear the brunt of pollution tied to global commerce. The question hanging over the region is whether environmental justice will remain a priority or become another casualty of economic and political pressure.
Related: A portrait of pollution around Canada’s busiest port
