Environmental injustice and transition pathways of heavy-duty truck transport in China

Freight transport underpins economic development yet imposes substantial environmental burdens through heavy-duty truck (HDT) emissions. This study addresses the critical challenge of balancing pollution reduction with social justice in China’s freight sector. Analysing 51 billion signals from over one million HDTs, we create a high-resolution emission inventory revealing stark regional disparities in pollution exposure—with economically disadvantaged and vulnerable populations disproportionately affected. We introduce the Pollution-Benefit Matching Index (PBMI), which quantifies the mismatch between environmental costs and economic benefits at county level, identifying regions bearing high pollution burdens without corresponding economic gains. To address these inequities, we propose three strategic interventions: electrification of major freight corridors, implementation of a polluter-pays nitrogen oxides (NOx) mitigation levy, and establishment of HDT-restricted zones near rural schools. This integrated approach not only reduces emissions but also improves their distributional equity, providing a transferable analytical framework that may inform efforts to advance environmental sustainability and social justice in freight transport systems in other countries. In China, disadvantaged communities face a high level of air pollution, and proposed solutions include corridor electrification, nitrogen oxide emissions levies, and truck-free zones near rural schools, according to billion signals from over 1 million trucks that map freight emissions.