Canadian Province Implements California Emissions Standards

Washington DC June 19, 2006; The AIADA newletter reported that Canadian officials said that Quebec will impose California-style limits on vehicle emissions which are thought to cause global warming, reports Automotive News.

Environmentalists had raised doubts that a voluntary agreement by automakers to reduce emissions in Canada would have much impact. But the decision in Quebec refocuses attention on California's rules, which require automakers to reduce vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions by about 30 percent from 2009-16 model years, mainly by adding fuel-saving technologies.

Several groups from within the auto industry have argued that the California rules, issued under the state's clean-air authority, are a "thinly veiled attempt to regulate fuel economy," a power, they argue, which is reserved for the federal government.

The Bush administration is also arguing against the California standards. Most recently, the Administration made the decision to include extensive regulatory language in the newly adopted fuel-economy standards for light trucks.