The Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles: A New Approach to Helping Countries Achieve Environmental Sustainability in The Transportation Sector

Many developing countries experience serious air pollution, especially in their urban centers, and emission sources often include the transportation sector. Several countries still use leaded gasoline and/or high sulfur fuels, which impair vehicle emission controls or prevent their use. The Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV) was created at the United Nations to help developing countries eliminate lead in gasoline, phase down fuel sulfur and concurrently introduce cleaner vehicles as a way to reduce emissions. The PCFV was launched at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in September 2002 as a public-private collaborative effort designed to help developing countries achieve greater progress towards their air quality goals. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) hosts the partnership Clearinghouse, and its partners consist of governments, industry, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

This paper will describe the PCFV approach to helping developing countries advance their policy objectives on cleaner fuels and vehicles. The paper will highlight the critical role and contributions of the auto and oil industries and their respective trade associations. The trade associations, in particular, will be shown to be instrumental to the functioning of such a partnership by facilitating and enabling their members' involvement. While not generally considered public policy experts, industry partners are enabling the transfer of technical knowledge and practical insights into the development of effective public policy strategies, which can mean the difference between success and failure for such initiatives while maximizing the use of available resources.