The federal government’s latest announcement to team up with California on reducing greenhouse gas pollution has sparked concern among auto industry representatives who are seeking a single national standard with the U.S.
On June 26, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, and the Chair of the California Air Resources Board, Mary Nichols, signed a cooperation agreement to “advance clean transportation,” according to a government news release.
“We look forward to working with California to fight climate change, keep the air clean and give drivers better options for cleaner, more affordable vehicles,” said McKenna.
The agreement commits both parties to work together on their respective regulations to reduce GHG pollution from vehicles, share best practices and technical information about regulating cleaner fuels, and to promote the uptake of cleaner vehicles. In this case, Canada is already doing this with its iZEV program, as it aims to ensure all light-duty vehicles sold in the country are 100 per cent zero-emission by 2040.
Furthermore, Canada is developing a Clean Fuel Standard that aims to reduce emissions by 30 million tonnes in 2030, again aligning its fuel standards closer to that of the state of California than the U.S.
In a news release, David Adams, President of the Global Automakers of Canada, said he was concerned that Canada is “putting the cart before the horse,” since the situation regarding emission standards in the U.S. has not been settled yet.
“While we appreciate that the federal government might wish to pursue more aggressive standards than those of the United States, we support the actions of our industry associations in the United States that have appealed to the President to continue with responsible — yet challenging — emission reduction targets that would also be acceptable to California — to preserve one national standard in the U.S. and effectively North America,” said Adams.
John White, President and CEO of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) said the announcement by the federal government to pursue a state-by-state approach runs counter to the benefits of a single national standard with the U.S.
“After successfully concluding the new CUSMA agreement and automotive side letter with the United States, Canada took a major step towards ensuring free trade and automotive harmonization within North America,” said White. “Any movement away from a harmonized approach will hinder choice and increase costs for Canadian Consumers.”
Mark Nantais, President of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association also echoed a similar sentiment.
“Having worked so hard toward a new North American trade agreement that supports our highly integrated economies, Canada needs to ensure key national regulatory standards remain aligned with the United States so that the auto sector can deliver vehicles to Canadian consumers with continuing environmental improvements at affordable costs,” said Nantais.
In a news release, the CVMA also said it recognizes that the federal government will conduct a “detailed, data-driven” mid-term technical review on vehicle fleet GHG emissions before finalizing regulations. The association said it would support a “fact-based” review of the market that results in a standard reflecting the safety impacts of new vehicle technology and “achieves year-over-year improvements.”
It is yet to be seen if California and the Trump administration can reach an agreement to maintain a nationwide set of emissions rules.
