The European Union and Canada will strengthen their cooperation in the fight against climate change with a Green Alliance that will include a Memorandum of Understanding on “clean” hydrogen and will work on the Global Challenge on Carbon Pricing, whose objective is to triple the percentage of global emissions covered by carbon pollution pricing to 60 percent by 2030.
This was announced this Tuesday by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, at a joint press conference on the occasion of the visit of the German leader to Canada.
The leaders have pledged to advance their climate commitment through a Green Alliance between the two powers, in order to establish an “umbrella”, as Von der Leyen has called it, that helps develop economies that are climate neutral, circular and efficient in the use of resources in the coming decades.
In this regard, they will work to lay the foundations for the development of a reliable hydrogen supply chain between Canada and the EU, as well as to develop common approaches to hydrogen standards and certification, and have announced an action plan to advance the commercialization of the hydrogen industry and developing transatlantic trade.
They will also explore how Canada and the EU can enhance collaboration to advance a low-carbon industry, including steel and aluminum, through bilateral and multilateral fora.
In his speech, Von der Leyen announced the intention of the European Commission to work to participate in the Global Carbon Pricing Challenge, an initiative launched by Trudeau at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change held in Glasgow.
“It is time to go to the next level”, stressed the president of the Community Executive, who has advocated identifying good investment opportunities and accelerating joint research, in addition to highlighting the association with Canada with regard to critical raw materials for cut dependence on third countries such as China, on which the EU depends on 98 percent to obtain these materials.
Expanded Canadian support for Ukraine
As part of this transatlantic friendship, both have highlighted joint efforts to support Ukraine against the Russian war of aggression and, on the occasion of the recent anniversary of the attack, Trudeau has announced that the mission’s engineering training will be extended until October 2023. and that the Canadian Armed Forces will now provide advanced training in combat medicine.
Canada has also committed an additional $3 million to support a landmine and UXO removal initiative that complements the more than $32 million it is already contributing to support mine action in Ukraine, a goal to which the EU is contributing. 43 million euros.
Europa Press
