Report on the Regional Workshop on the East Africa Community Harmonized Fuel Standards

The Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV), one of the leading global public-private partnership promoting cleaner fuels and vehicles, has been working with developing and transitional countries to reduce vehicular air pollution through the promotion of cleaner fuels and vehicles. The PCFV focuses to promote the introduction of low sulphur fuels of 50 ppm & below for both diesel and petrol. The desirable outcome is the of adoption of ultra-low (10ppm and below) sulphur fuels which allow the use of advance vehicle technology.

To promote these campaigns, the PCFV is supporting the development of the reviewed draft East Africa Community fuel standards, EAS 158 & 177 with inputs based on data submitted by the different presenters during the workshop as outlined in the report.

A systems approach to fuels and vehicles regulations will ensure that countries apply a long term strategy and outlook to their roadmap towards cleaner fuels and vehicles regulation and link the phased introduction of cleaner fuels with those of cleaner vehicles.

The Petroleum Institute of East Africa (PIEA) is a not for profit association and the professional body for the oil and gas industry in the East African region. UNEP and the PIEA have been cooperating to support the East Africa region to adopt low sulphur harmonized standards. As a product of this collaboration, the East Africa Community implemented low sulphur fuels (50ppm) in January 2015.  

As a follow-up to the cleaner fuels campaign, PIEA and UNEP co-organized a sub-regional workshop on 29th January 2019, that brought together participants from East African countries. Participants were drawn from diverse stakeholder organizations including government, industry, civil society and academia.