OTTAWA-
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hinting that a planned energy pact between Canada and Germany will focus more on Canada’s goal of being a long-term global supplier of clean energy.
Trudeau is set to sign a largely hydrogen-focused energy development deal with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during Scholz’s visit to Canada next week.
Trudeau says the Russian invasion of Ukraine “changed everything” for global energy security.
Europe, and Germany in particular, are heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas and are desperate for short- and long-term alternatives.
Trudeau says Canada has increased its oil and gas production, but there’s not much it can realistically do to change the energy crisis in the near term.
But in the longer term, he says, Canada’s hydrogen and critical mineral strategies aim to make the country one of the largest net-zero energy providers in the world.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 19, 2022.