Regulations are the next step after targets have been set. With targets increasing industry confidence, regulations solidify the trajectory of the market and further encourage a positive outlook for zero-emission technology. Regulations can be enacted on several criteria that will have a differing impact on the zero-emission landscape. Purchase mandates, sales mandates, vehicle emissions standards, and fuel efficiency standards are all examples of different forms of regulations that can be instituted by a governing body to accelerate ZE-MHDV adoption. Without regulations, any targets established will face major difficulties navigating key barriers to achieving commercialization. Governments with 2050 carbon neutrality goals should be taking extra care to establish roadmaps for achieving transportation decarbonization and outlining realistic time horizons for the phaseout of current polluting technologies like diesel and gasoline. This boosts the private sector’s ability to plan and prepare for the transition in propulsion technology. Without enforceable regulations to back up the aspirations of the targets established, progress forward will be delayed and targets established, no matter how ambitious, will not be met on schedule.
For transparency and clarity, for a country to achieve the “maximum” eligibility, a country must:
- Establish regulatory sales requirements for ZE-MHDVs nationwide, OR;
- Establish Euro-VII-equivalent emission standards for MHDV, OR;
- Establish GHG/fuel efficiency/consumption standards for MHDVs with sufficient stringency to meet the MOU targets.
To receive “limited” eligibility a country must:
- Establish regulatory sales requirements for ZE-MHDVs at the regional level, OR;
- Establish nationwide GHG/fuel efficiency/consumption standards for MHDVs, OR;
- Establish a nationwide low-carbon fuel standard.