Echoing the recent announcement of light-duty vehicle emissions standards in the US and Canada, both nations have proposed regulatory frameworks for limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Canada’s regulations would apply to model years 2014 and later, and the framework closely complements the US’s proposed regulations for model years 2014-18.

The new performance-based vehicle emissions standards would apply to three classes of road-use heavy trucks: combination tractors, heavy-duty pickups & vans, and vocational vehicles. The standards would be expressed per unit of work, such as gal/1,000 tonne-km or g CO2/tonne-km, in order to recognize the higher workload capacities and important purposes of heavy duty vehicles.

In Canada consultation plans will be released with pre-publication of draft rules expected in mid-2011. Two public hearings in the US are scheduled for mid-November.

By Cheryl Johnson, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)