Regulatory area to be addressed - Locomotive Emissions

Closing Summary

The 2016-2017 Canada-US Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) Work Plan for Locomotive Emissions is now closed. The Locomotive Emissions Regulations were published in June 2017, and align with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) regulations. The US EPA and Transport Canada (TC) will continue exploring opportunities to collaborate on joint initiatives for alignment.

Regulatory area to be addressed

LOCOMOTIVE EMISSIONS

Air pollution and climate change are challenges that know no boundaries. The U.S. EPA and Transport Canada will build on the already extensive collaboration and coordination between both governments to improve the alignment of greenhouse gas protocols and coordination on air pollutant regulations for locomotives.

Work stream A

Alignment of greenhouse gas protocols: Canada and the U.S. have been working together to align efforts to address greenhouse gas emissions from locomotives. Moving forward, Canada and the U.S. will work with key stakeholders to finalize a Canada-U.S. Voluntary Action Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Locomotives. This will provide a framework for working together into the future and include regular reporting on progress. Key elements of this work would include sharing of research on technologies and strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through voluntary initiatives and to maintain regular engagement with key stakeholders.

Department/Agency

Canada-U.S. Voluntary Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from locomotives

Planned initiatives and sub-deliverables	Date
Finalize targets and measures to be included in the Voluntary Action Plan	Fall 2016
Finalize the Voluntary Action Plan for implementation	Early 2017
Prepare and publish annual reports on progress made under the Voluntary Action Plan	Annually

Research on technologies and strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Planned initiatives and sub-deliverables	Date
Joint research priorities to be determined as part of the Voluntary Action Plan and opportunities will be sought to undertake joint research where appropriate	Ongoing, starting in 2016
Share research findings among governments and stakeholders to advance scientific understanding and collaboration	Ongoing, starting in 2016

Stakeholder engagement on progress of Action Plan and research

Planned initiatives and sub-deliverables	Date
Hold periodic teleconferences or webinars with interested stakeholders	At least one per year
Collaborate with industry experts to help finalize the Voluntary Action Plan	Throughout 2016

Work stream B

Coordination on air pollutant regulations: Canada and the U.S. have been working together to align Canadian efforts to address air pollutant emissions from locomotives in a manner that is consistent with existing U.S. emission regulations. Regulations to reduce air pollutants from locomotives have been in place in the U.S. since 2000. Canadian regulations are currently under development and would align with the existing emission standards set out in the U.S. regulations. Improved coordination would be enabled through the establishment of mechanisms by which information and data would be shared. Work in this area would include coordination of regulatory agendas and joint work as required, sharing of research on technologies and procedures to reduce air pollutant emissions and exploring benefits and opportunities of increased data sharing and alignment.

Department/Agency

Coordination on locomotive emissions regulations

Planned initiatives and sub-deliverables	Date
Prepublication of Canadian locomotive emissions regulations to align with existing U.S. emissions standards	June – September 2016
Ongoing discussion on regulatory agendas and joint work to align on emerging issues, as appropriate	Ongoing
Ongoing consultation with stakeholders via regulatory process (e.g. Canada Gazette) and parallel engagement under work stream A	Ongoing

Sharing of locomotive emissions information and data

Planned initiatives and sub-deliverables	Date
Explore benefits of increased data sharing between regulatory programs	Winter 2017
Explore opportunities to align data collection methods	2017

Research on technologies and strategies to reduce air pollutant emissions

Planned initiatives and sub-deliverables	Date
Undertake joint research where appropriate, emerging from the identification of new strategies and technological opportunities in the course of discussion between governments and with stakeholders	Ongoing
Share research findings among governments and stakeholders to advance scientific understanding and collaboration	Ongoing