Promoting Cleaner Fuels and Vehicles Worldwide

The Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV) is a global public-private partnership working with developing and transitional countries to reduce air pollution from vehicles through the promotion of cleaner fuels and vehicles.  

EPA was a charter member of the Partnership, which began its work in 2002 and now includes 73 partners. The partnership kicked off its international cooperation with a focus on the promotion of unleaded fuels.  The PCFV helped achieve great success through the elimination of the use of leaded gasoline worldwide in 2021. 

Beginning in 2008, the PCFV’s second focus area was to reduce sulfur in fuels.  At that time, few developing countries had low sulfur fuel policies.  Since 2009, the PCFV has helped more than 20 countries – whose populations total over 1.7 billion – implement low sulfur diesel fuel standards (50 ppm or below).  This effort has significantly reduced sulfur dioxides and particulate matter, both of which have significant impacts on human health.

The PCFV also launched a third campaign – the vehicles campaign – recognizing that governments that have been successful in securing cleaner fuels would achieve greater environmental and health impacts by combining cleaner fuels with cleaner vehicles that take advantage of innovative emission control technologies.

The PCFV engages governments and stakeholders in developing countries:

• To eliminate lead in gasoline globally. This goal was successfully accomplished in July 2021.  
• To promote access to fuel no more than 50 ppm sulfur. For comparison, the United States uses 15 ppm sulfur diesel fuel; some developing countries still offer fuels that are much higher in sulfur content.
• To promote the introduction of cleaner, more efficient vehicles. Since 2012 six developing countries have adopted vehicle emission standards, and additional countries are using the PCFV Regulatory Toolkit to develop standards.