UNEP’s support to developing and transitional countries towards cleaner fuels and vehicle standards is mainly through initiatives and partnerships.
Rapid vehicle growth is taking place in the Global South. Two trends are observed from this vehicle growth. First, the dominance of internal combustion engine cars, buses, and trucks to additional vehicle fleets, and secondly, to meet increasing mobility needs most of these countries rely on import of used vehicles.
In the short term, the import and/or production of low sulphur fuels, combined with cleaner, safer, and more fuel-efficient vehicles standards will help to address increasing air pollution, contribute towards climate change mitigation, and improve road safety.
Through partnerships and initiatives like the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV), the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI), the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), and the UN Road Safety Fund (UNRSF), UNEP is supporting this shift to cleaner, more sustainable mobility, with a major success being the global elimination of automotive leaded petrol fuels in 2021.
