The Trump administration has spiked the GHG Phase 3 rules, leaving Canada in a quandary about what to do next.

In February, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rescinded the ‘Endangerment Finding,’ which underpinned emissions regulations targeting greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide. In doing so, poof, the GHG Phase 3 rules slated to be phased in beginning in 2027 have gone up in smoke.

These are the regulations that were seen to be forcing zero-emission trucks onto the market. The move won’t affect the EPA27 low-NOx regulation – the engine makers are already too far down that path to go back now.

But Canada, like the U.S., was committed to GHG Phase 3. As of this writing, we still are. Yet, it makes very little sense to continue on this path. The truck manufacturers aren’t going to build a Canadian emission spec’ just for us. This market is too small.

And the costs of complying with GHG Phase 3 – when the Americans don’t have too – would be competitively punitive for Canadian fleets. Staying the course should be a non-starter, despite our best environmental intentions.

This won’t sit well in Liberal Ottawa, but it’s time we follow suit and abandon GHG Phase 3. There’s no other practical alternative.

The U.S. trucking industry has been near-unanimous in its support for the EPA’s decision to kill the regulation. It was too restrictive. It would force battery-electric trucks into applications they aren’t yet well suited for. It would foist burdensome costs on operators and ramp up the adoption of technologies not yet ready for prime time in all but niche applications.

And, while battery-electric trucks produce no tailpipe emissions, I’ve yet to see a well-to-wheel analysis that makes the mining of metals needed for battery production or the end-of-life disposal of used battery packs go away.

Say what you want about the Trump administration, but putting an end to GHG Phase 3 is a prudent decision that Canada must follow. And it doesn’t have to be viewed as a defeat, either.

Look at the progress the industry has made in slashing its emissions. It takes 60 trucks of today’s vintage to produce the particulate matter and NOx emissions produced by just one pre-emission truck. That’s a win that should be celebrated, not forgotten.

Killing the restrictive GHG Phase 3 emissions regs also allows fleets to choose greener technologies that will perform as needed in their application. Maybe natural gas will get a fresh look. It’s clean. It’s abundant. It’s produced right here in Canada.

No, it’s not a zero-emission fuel but it significantly reduces CO2 emissions relative to diesel.

This is not the time for Canada to go it alone on emissions. Existing emissions regulations are already punitive to many Canadian fleets. Just ask someone trying to spec’ an on/off-highway vocational truck with an 18-speed transmission.

We need to regulate pollutants, but we need to do so responsibly and without exerting additional pain on Canadian fleets when they can least afford it. It’s time to take a breather and follow in lockstep with the U.S. on emissions regulations.

Our industry depends on it.