Canada announces post-2016 emission regulations for light-duty vehicles

22 September 2014

Environment Canada announced new regulatory initiatives to align GHG and criteria emission requirements for model year 2017 and later light-duty vehicles with those of the United States.

• The final Regulations Amending the Passenger Automobile and Light Truck Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations for model year 2017 and beyond will be published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, on October 8. These regulatory amendments are harmonized with the US EPA/NHTSA 2017-2025 GHG and fuel economy standards.
• The proposed amendments to strengthen the On-Road Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulations and the Sulfur in Gasoline Regulations will be published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on September 27. With these amendments, Canada is proposing to establish more stringent vehicle emission standards and to reduce the allowable sulfur content of gasoline, in alignment with US Tier 3 standards. The publication of the proposed regulations in the Canada Gazette will initiate a 75-day public comment period. As part of the consultations, Environment Canada intends to host an in-person technical session and several webinars in mid to late October to review the proposed regulations.

In addition, Environment Canada announced that it will start developing more stringent GHG emission and fuel consumption standards for post-2018 model year heavy-duty vehicles and engines. These regulations will be harmonized with the Phase 2 GHG regulations for heavy-duty vehicles that are under development in the United States.

Canadian emission regulations for engines and vehicles are generally harmonized with the respective US requirements. However, a number of differences exist in the detailed phase-in schedules and other particulars. For instance, Canadian engine emission standards do not include the US-style emission averaging, banking and trading programs.

Source: Environment Canada