SACRAMENTO – Joining together to save families money, cut air pollution and help fight climate change, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, and the Chair of the California Air Resources Board, Mary Nichols, today signed a new cooperation agreement to advance cleaner vehicles and fuels. 

With nearly a quarter of Canada’s carbon emissions and over 40 percent of California’s coming from the transportation sector, cleaner vehicles and fuels can make a huge contribution to meeting our climate and clean air goals. California, the world’s 5^th-largest economy, is recognized as a global leader in clean transportation.

The Memorandum of Understanding commits both governments to work together on developing their respective regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions from light-duty vehicles, such as those currently in effect in Canada, California and the 13 U.S. states that have adopted California’s standards.  Canada is currently reviewing its light-duty vehicle standards to help make sure people can drive fuel-efficient cars that cut pollution and reduce fuel costs.

The partnership will see Canada and California work together to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission vehicles like electric cars. This could include sharing lessons learned by both jurisdictions about requirements, incentives, and dealer inducements to boost sales, along with sharing approaches to developing charging infrastructure.

The two jurisdictions will also share technical information and best practices in regulating cleaner fuels, as California does today though its Low-Carbon Fuel Standard. Canada is developing a Clean Fuel Standard that will cut emissions by 30 million tonnes in 2030.

The cooperation will take a variety of forms, including establishing a working group that meets annually, sharing policy information and program design, providing capacity building and technical support, exchanges of personnel, cooperative research and development, and joint organization of symposia and trainings.The two regulatory agencies will also work together on emissions testing and enforcement of vehicle regulations.

Quotes

“California takes a backseat to no one when it comes to combatting climate change, standing up for clean air and protecting the health of future generations. We look forward to working with Canada to adopt clean technologies that take us closer to our clean air goals.”
–Gavin Newsom, Governor of California

“It’s great news that Canada will be working even more closely with California on fighting climate change with cleaner cars, trucks and fuels. Working together means a bigger market for clean cars in North America, giving Canadians more choices to save on fuel costs and cut pollution. We need to advance clean technology and make it affordable for everyone.”
–Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

“With California and Canada solidifying our partnership, which represents half of the North American auto market, both recognize that cleaner vehicles and fuels will be critical to combating climate change, cleaning up air across our communities, and saving Canadians and Californians money at the pump.”
–Mary Nichols, Chair, California Air Resources Board

Quick facts

• California and Canada are close economic partners, with 1.2 million jobs in California dependent on trade and investment with Canada. California sells US $26.2 billion in goods and services to Canada annually.
• In the 2019 budget, the Government of Canada announced rebates of up to $5,000 for consumers on the purchase of zero-emission vehicles. Businesses that buy zero-emission vehicles are also now eligible for a tax benefit estimated to be worth around $13,000 in the year they purchase the vehicles.
• California allocated $238 million in the 2019 budget for incentives to purchase electric and fuel cell vehicles, with a focus on low-income consumers and in disadvantaged communities.
• To date, California has invested $820 million in incentives for zero-emission and plug-in vehicles. Today in California, one in ten new car sales is a plug-in car; and half of all plug-in cars sold in the United States to date – almost 600,000 – are in California. 
• Canada aims to have 100 percent of vehicles sold in this country be zero-emission by 2040. California requires automakers to ensure that a growing fraction of their sales are zero-emission vehicles and aims to have five million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2030.
• The 13 states working with California on regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Combined, these states and California constitute over 40 percent of the U.S. passenger vehicle market.
• Canada is currently completing a mid-term review of its light duty vehicle regulations. California conducted a similar review in 2016 for vehicle standards through the 2025 model year and found the standards achievable, cost-effective and appropriate.
• California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard went into effect in 2011 and has helped make the state a leader in advanced clean fuels. To date, California has displaced 3.3 billion gallons of petroleum-based fuels with low-carbon alternatives, including renewable diesel, electricity and renewable natural gas.

California’s international agreements and Memorandum of Understanding between the California Air Resources Board and Environment and Climate Change Canada to enhance cooperation on measures that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.