CTA: Ottawa Must Proceed with Caution, Not Go it Alone on GHG Regs for Heavy Trucks in Canada
The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, recently made public comments stating that the U.S. election results will not impact Canada’s commitment to implementing an ambitious climate reduction plan.
In response, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) is again asking the Government of Canada to continue to proceed with caution while waiting to see how the U.S. EPA proceeds on this issue before hastily implementing Canadian GHG emissions regulations for heavy trucks in Canada.
In October, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) held its initial stakeholder briefing around the implementation of more stringent GHG and air pollutant standards for on-road vehicles, including heavy-duty trucks under GHG Phase 3 requirements in Canada. During the discussion, ECCC officials indicated that their intent was to broadly align with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) new emission regulations, which have come under much debate and scrutiny by stakeholders in the U.S. for not being achievable or operationally feasible, amongst other concerns.
ECCC also stated it continues to determine the feasibility of U.S. EPA’s rules and their applicability within the Canadian context, while aiming to be “technology neutral” in the process. The Alliance believes that moving forward with Canada’s regulations, without receiving clarity on how the new U.S. administration will deal with the current regulations would not be sensible. This approach would also go against the federal government’s commitment to taking a more gradual and collaborative approach to emissions reductions in the heavy truck sector.
In recent correspondence to the CTA from Minister Guilbeault in response to CTA’s decarbonization white paper outlining the realities and challenges facing fleets in the trucking sector, he indicated that CTA’s report was timely as ECCC continues to assess the U.S. EPA final rule. The Minister also indicated that decarbonization in the trucking sector will continue to require significant work, including technological innovation:
“Environment and Climate Change Canada recognizes that innovation and much more action are required to successfully decarbonize the heavy-duty vehicle sector and overcome key barriers, such as the buildout of charging and refuelling infrastructure.”
