Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent announced Canada's alignment with the U.S. regulations for heavy-duty vehicle and engine greenhouse gas emissions for 2014 and later.

Canada's government first announced plans to develop GHG emissions/fuel economy standards for heavy trucks back in May 2010, the same day President Obama did. Canada's draft regulations were expected to be released that fall -- as the U.S. ones were -- but have been delayed.

Member companies of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors and Navistar, support the new regulations, and vehicle manufacturers are pleased that this will result in one national heavy-duty vehicle and engine GHG standard for Canada and the

Under the proposed regulations, heavy truck, tractor and engine OEMs will be encouraged to meet average GHG emission targets as a percentage of their total fleet sales over the 2014-18 period. Compliance measures in the U.S. will include a system of bankable and tradable credits and possibly penalties. The regulations will not deal with existing tractors. Nor will they cover existing or new trailers, although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has indicated it could regulate GHG emissions caused by trailer drag in 2018.

U.S. Daimler Trucks North America recently announced its vehicle lineup is already GHG14 compliant.

"Today's announcement means that, by the year 2020, greenhouse gas emissions from Canada's heavy-duty vehicles will be reduced by 3 million tonnes per year. This is equivalent to removing 650,000 personal vehicles from the road," said Kent in a news release.

The proposed regulations are subject to a 60-day public consultation period.

It is expected that manufacturers will meet the targets mainly through cab design (aerodynamics), engine modifications and low-rolling-resistance tires. By model year 2018, the goal is that GHG emissions from new heavy trucks will be 20% less than 2010 models.

The Canadian Trucking Association has been encouraging the Canadian government to accompany the regulation with a labelling system identifying "GHG-compliant tractors" and accelerated capital cost allowance to speed up the penetration of those trucks into the marketplace.

"The regulation is flexible in that it does not prescribe what has to be done to reach the GHG reduction targets, as was the case with the smog emissions mandate," says Canadian Trucking Alliance President David Bradley. "That is not a bad thing, since the trucking industry is not homogenous in terms of the type of equipment used to transport various commodities, the terrain, etc. -- but it does not provide the truck buyer with an Energy Star type labeling system identifying the most fuel-efficient product."

For more info:
Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association
Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent
Canadian Trucking Alliance

To learn more about the U.S. GHG standards and how manufacturers might meet them, read
"A Peek at How Engine Makers Might Hit New Fuel Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets" from the January 2012 issue of HDT.