Bloomberg Contributor

In the 1990s, NRDC set an ambitious goal: eliminate the use of leaded gasoline in every country in the world, just as had been done in the United States. To accomplish its mission, in 2002 NRDC co-founded the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles with the United Nations Environment Programme and a group of governments, NGOs, and leaders in the auto and oil industries.

The partnership advised countries on how to change their refinery practices and conducted on-the-ground testing of gasoline around the world to ensure progress and compliance. More than 185 countries have eliminated lead from gasoline, and the partnership believes the six remaining countries that still use leaded gasoline will switch to unleaded by the end of 2012.