German and Canadian business groups call for stronger partnership on energy and climate
Ottawa, Ontario, August 16, 2022 – In advance of next week’s visit to Canada by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, German and Canadian business groups are calling for a stronger partnership between their two countries on liquefied natural gas (LNG), hydrogen and critical minerals.
“In the short term, Europe needs to wean itself from its dependence on Russian energy and increase its imports of energy products, especially LNG, from other suppliers,” the business groups said today in a joint statement.
“Currently, global LNG supply is limited, as is Europe’s capacity to import it. By speeding up the deployment of Canadian LNG export facilities, Canada can help keep European industry running and households warm.”
The joint statement was issued by the Business Council of Canada, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and the Transatlantic Business Initiative, which represents four leading German business associations.
Beyond facilitating trade in Canadian LNG, the statement says Germany and Canada should work together to:
- enable future exports of Canadian hydrogen, thereby helping Canada and Europe meet their climate targets;
- boost the supply of critical minerals for the green and digital economy;
- expand production of semiconductors, which are essential to the green transition and to a wide range of intelligent and energy-efficient technologies;
- enhance research cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and other technologies.
