Accelerating policy action in support of soot-free and zero-emission road transport in the Global South

This project was approved in 2022 under the CCAC's call for transformative action in the heavy-duty vehicles and engines (HDVE) sector. 

Emissions from transportation are expected to grow across Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Carribean driven by economic development and population growth. At the same time, countries across these regions have made commitments towards net-zero, setting carbon neutrality for the next 30-40 years. 

What we're doing

Working in the ASEAN region, this project will align vehicle emission standards, fuel quality standards, and used vehicle import policies. Doing so among countries with strong economic ties could have an added benefit of eliminating or reducing barriers to progress, such as competitiveness concerns, cross-border traffic, used vehicle markets, limited access to cleaner fuels, and limited availability of vehicle models meeting local design specifications. 

Together with the Southern African Development Community (SADC), this project will build on a previously developed sub-regional overview of fuel sulphur levels supported by the CCAC. This overview on harmonized low-sulphur fuel standards will be presented. presented to stakeholders at the sub-regional for consideration and adoption as regional standards. At the same time the project will sensitize countries that have already adopted low sulphur fuels on the need for matching vehicle emission standards.  

Finally, in Latin America the project will support the preparation of policy guidance documents based on first movers' experience to accelerate soot-free adoption in the region. It will make use of HDV remote sensing emissions data from Latin American cities to monitor and enforce policies and support complementary policies. 

This project will deliver at a minimum: 

  • ASEAN region accelerates Euro VI transition and harmonisation by the end of the project or soon after
  • SADC region accelerates Euro VI harmonisation adoption by the end of the project or soon after
  • Latin American countries successfully implement and / or enforce Euro VI and ZEV targets by the end of the project or soon after