Shifting to Efficient and Zero Emissions Vehicles in the Global South - GFEI

A meeting of the Global South to discuss the shift to efficient and zero emissions vehicles was held at the UNEP headquarters from 13 -15 June 2022 as part the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI). The meeting also served as a wrap of phase 2 of the EU-funded GFEI programme, with the other key funding agencies to the Initiative being the FIA Foundation and UNEP. More than 60 participants from international and regional bodies, national and local government, the private sector including zero-emission vehicle financiers, and the academia attended the 3-day meeting. More participants and partners also joined the meeting virtually. Participants from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus discussed key challenges facing their regions, and the opportunities in promoting a shift to efficient vehicles including electric mobility.

The key findings from baseline assessments of over 70 low- and middle-income countries were presented. The assessments revealed marginal improvements in the fuel economy in the Global South, not enough to meet the GFEI targets. However, these fuel economy assessments and policy interventions have been critical to improving vehicle efficiency in the Global South. For example, fuel economy improvements in the Global South would have been 10% by 2030 from 2005 levels due to vehicle technologies improvements. However, through the GFEI county support, it is estimated that fuel economy improvements will reach 27% in the same period.

Improving vehicle fuel efficiency and promoting electric mobility in the Global South is a key priority of UNEP’s sustainable mobility agenda, as well as contributing to international climate goals. The GFEI partners have been in the forefront, since the formation of the GFEI in 2009, in advocating for the inclusion of the Global South in climate targets. Since the highest vehicle growth rates are expected to occur in low- and middle-income countries in the coming decades. Countries that are leading in implementing fuel economy polices in the regions such as Mauritius and Chile shared their experiences. These can also be accessed from the GFEI partner websites (for example see https://theicct.org/magic-of-feebate-programs-jun22/).