Updated proposal as of 18 March 2026.

The 37th session reviewed a consolidated working document on automotive life cycle assessment integrating comments from Contracting Parties, stakeholders, and the European Commission. Key unresolved issues include electricity modelling, chain of custody, primary data share, logistics, battery replacement, and vehicle lifetime assumptions. The leading team will update the overview table and identify priority issues for discussion. The next session is scheduled for 9 April 2026, with an internal milestone of 19 June 2026 to resolve outstanding issues.

The leading team was assigned to revise Table 1 and circulate a new proposal, integrate editorial changes accepted from US Environmental Protection Agency, and update the document following agreed deletions and wording changes. Contracting Parties are to provide input on Table 1 revision and participate in small-group discussions on pre-consumer scrap treatment, waste vs co-product classification, and Figure 4 applicability. Open issues to be revisited include market-mediated effects definition, system boundary terminology, and recycled content methodology. The European Commission cannot support adoption at this stage.

Proposal to establish a new Mutual Resolution No. 5 (M.R.5) concerning Automotive Life Cycle Assessment (A-LCA) to provide an internationally harmonised methodology for determining carbon footprint of light-duty vehicles across all life cycle stages—material production, parts production and vehicle assembly, use, and end-of-life—using a level concept that distinguishes four levels of detail based on data availability and study purpose, applicable to different powertrain types and energy pathways, with provisions for energy modelling, recycling methodology, discrepancy and deterioration factors, maintenance assessment, and third-party verification requirements for Levels 3 and 4.

The A-LCA IWG will confirm open items and agree how to deal with nonagreed items by 12 May. A draft working document will be distributed by 12 June for review and refinement during the week of 6 July. The working document will be finalized by 17 June and distributed for final confirmation by 17 October, with presentation at the 95th GRPE session on 22 October.

The agenda includes review of electricity/energy modeling, OVC-HEV/FCV, and battery/power train replacement.

The agenda includes discussion on a document package to be submitted to GRPE, and review of the latest leading document covering general aspects, electricity/energy modeling, OVC-HEV/FCV, and battery/power train replacement.

A-LCA IWG plans to submit a Working Document by 22 July 2026 containing only items agreed by the entire IWG, with non-agreed items handled under Option 1, 2, or 3. Option 1 creates a memorandum section within the Working Document for non-agreed items. Options 2 and 3 submit the Working Document and a separate Informal Document titled Interim Guidance for A-LCA during the 95th GRPE in October, aimed at helping practitioners with CFP calculation until reserved items are resolved.

Proposal to amend para. 6.3.1. to clarify use stage system boundaries, revise para. 6.3.2.1. regarding service life methodology and regional adaptation, delete and rewrite para. 6.3.3. on use stage consumption to introduce level concepts for certification values and restructure discrepancy and deterioration factor determination, reserve sections on vehicles with dual-mode powertrains and fuel cell and OVC-HEV deterioration calculations pending further development, amend para. 6.3.3.2.2.2. addressing OVC-HEV battery degradation (reserved), add para. 6.3.6.7. on swappable parts (reserved), and update Table 14 to include parts and/or components defined by vehicle manufacturer as mandatory for Level 3/Level 4 assessments, supported by GRPE/2026/2.

Updated text for the use stage of the proposed Mutual Resolution No. 5 concerning Automotive Life Cycle Assessment (A-LCA) addressing use stage methodology, including system boundaries encompassing in-use energy consumption and GHG emissions covering well-to-tank and tank-to-wheel impacts, maintenance and consumables impacts, and leakages; defining service life values by contracting parties based on official data on vehicle age at recycling; establishing level concepts for selecting regional certification energy consumption values and determining discrepancy and deterioration factors to represent real-world performance; specifying methodologies for calculating in-use energy consumption for vehicles with single and dual-mode powertrains including off-vehicle charging hybrid electric vehicles; addressing methane, hydrogen, and fluorocarbon emissions; providing maintenance scope including consumables and maintenance parts with associated frequency determination; excluding replacement of major powertrain components by default unless justified; and requiring collection of specified activity data and GHG emission factors. Full text of the draft MR5 previously submitted as GRPE/2026/2.

A-LCA Informal Group will discuss how to deal with non-agreed items, review draft working documents, refine working documents if necessary, and finalize working documents, with a Document Package to be distributed by May 28th, draft working documents by June 19th, and working documents by July 17th, culminating in confirmation of open items at the 95th GRPE session in October.