The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the German chancellor visited the western Newfoundland town of Stephenville last Tuesday, where they signed a green energy deal.
A local company has plans to build a zero-emission plant that will use wind energy to produce hydrogen and ammonia for export.
Hydrogen is seen as a critical component of Europe’s plan to reduce its reliance on Russian fossil fuels, particularly in light of the war in Ukraine and the recent reductions in the supply of Russian natural gas to Germany and other countries.
The town’s mayor, Tom Rose, said in an interview he believes the location and existing infrastructure make it an ideal location for such a venture, and the area is poised to be “the green energy hub of North America.”
Scholz and vice-chancellor Robert Habeck, who is in charge of the country’s energy file, visited Canada last week.
Speaking at a Canada-Germany business forum in Toronto, Trudeau said Canada is standing with its European allies by adding to the global energy supply as Russia continues to weaponize its fossil fuel exports.
“It has never been clearer why we need to accelerate the green transition,” Trudeau said.
“And you should have no doubts that Canada has what it takes to be a supplier of clean energy in a net-zero world.”
Scholz said Canada is Germany’s partner of choice as the country moves away from relying on Russia to supply energy.
“This means increasing our energy imports. We hope that Canadian energy will play a major role in this,” Scholz said.
“But the task at hand is much bigger than simply diversifying our energy supply. For us, what lies ahead is nothing less than the biggest transformation of our economy, infrastructure and mobility since the beginning of the industrial revolution.”
Scholz said his country is aiming to become climate neutral by 2045, while remaining a world-leading industrialized country.
