A National Zero-Emissions Vehicle Strategy for Canada

MONTREAL, May 26, 2017 /CNW/ –  Marc Garneau, Canada’s Minister of Transport, today announced that Canada is moving forward to develop a national strategy to increase the number of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVS) on Canadian roads by 2018.

Transportation accounts for about 24 percent of Canada’s emissions, mostly from cars and trucks. ZEVs which include battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, offer the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the light-duty vehicle sector.

“We understand Canadians’ concerns about the environment and are developing an aggressive strategy to tackle climate change by taking actions to reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution,” said Garneau.

“By putting more zero emission vehicles on the road, we are investing in the future of cleaner transportation for all Canadians.”

Under the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, federal, provincial and territorial governments committed to work with industry and stakeholders to develop a Canada-wide ZEV strategy by 2018.

This strategy will be ambitious and will build on existing initiatives, such as light-duty vehicle regulations, provincial ZEV programs, and Canadian innovation superclusters, to help meet our 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target and realize our potential as a global leader in innovation and the clean economy.

To advance the strategy, a national Advisory Group has been established to contribute to developing options for addressing the key barriers for greater deployment of these technologies in five areas: vehicle supply, cost and benefits of ownership, infrastructure readiness, public awareness, and clean growth and clean jobs.

The Advisory Group includes representatives from governments, industry, consumer and non-government organizations and academia.

As part of the strategy, Natural Resources Canada is to deploy infrastructure for electric vehicle charging and refuelling stations for alternative fuel such as natural gas and hydrogen, as well as to support technology demonstration projects.

Quick Facts

• In 2015, light-duty vehicle emissions accounted for approximately 50 percent of Canada’s transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, and 12 percent of the country’s total emissions
• Battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles offer the potential for important reductions in light-duty vehicle emissions as they have very little or no tailpipe emissions compared with conventional vehicles.

More information is available here:  The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change