Canada, which has been criticized for its poor environmental records, has announced a long-delayed greenhouse gas emissions law and plans to reduce the emissions of large trucks and buses by 23% by 2018.

According to reports, this regulation is in line with the relevant measures formulated by the United States. It will be effective from the model year of 2014 and is applicable to standard size small trucks, heavy trucks, bus cars, cement trucks, garbage trucks and dump trucks.

Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent stated at the announcement of the regulation: "Compared with the vehicles sold in 2010, the new regulations will reduce the emissions of heavy vehicles in 2018 by 23%."

“We hope that by 2020, this regulation will translate into 3 million tons of greenhouse gas emission reductions, which is equivalent to reducing 650,000 private vehicles on the road,” he said.

The Canadian Conservative government stated in May 2010 that it will introduce new standards for heavy vehicle emissions within a few months, but it has not been fulfilled. Last August, the Obama administration of the United States took the lead in introducing similar measures.

“Traffic emissions account for about a quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, any climate change strategy must carefully examine what is happening on the road,” Kent said.

As an important energy producer, Canada withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol for climate change last year and hopes that by 2020, it will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17% on a 2005 basis. But environmentalists believe that this is almost impossible to achieve due to the rapid expansion of the oil and gas industry in the country.

John Bennett of the Canadian Sierra Club said: "The expected increase in emissions from the oil and gas industry will make the investment in the freight industry useless."

Bennett called for a comprehensive climate plan that includes capping all industrial emissions, but he also said that this idea does not seem to be put into practice by the government. Kent stressed that the priority for Ottawa is the economy.

Keith Stuart of Greenpeace said that Canada and the United States have taken concerted measures to increase the energy efficiency of light vehicles. “We are no longer making breakthroughs in environmental protection policies. We have been dragged behind by the United States and we have no choice but to replicate their policies.” He noted that the North American transportation market is highly integrated.

Kent said that the new heavy-duty vehicles will be able to "use the latest fuel-efficient engines, aerodynamic cabs, and technology that will reduce idle resources."