A method for controlling the temperature of re-circulated exhaust gas in an internal combustion engine includes operating the internal combustion engine on a base line mode, receiving a signal indicative of an engine operating temperature, wherein the engine operating temperature is one of coolant temperature, exhaust temperature and oil temperature, comparing the engine operating temperature to a predetermined IEGR threshold, when the engine operating temperature is less than the predetermined IEGR threshold, activating an IEGR mode and activating an EEVO mode, and when the engine operating temperature is greater than the first predetermined IEGR threshold, deactivating the IEGR mode and deactivating the EEVO mode.