Canada

Canada is a net exporter of most energy commodities and is an especially significant producer of conventional and unconventional oil, natural gas, hydroelectricity and renewable energy. Canada is a key, and like-minded, energy partner of the EU.

Both the EU and Canada seek to improve and diversify energy supplies, promote innovation and increase deployment of renewable energy sources as well as energy efficiency towards their shared goal of achieving climate-neutrality by 2050.

EU-Canada Agreements and the Green Alliance

The EU and Canada cooperate under the 

• EU-Canada Green Alliance, established in November 2023
• Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), signed in October 2016
• Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), signed in October 2016
• EU Canada High-Level Energy Dialogue (HLED), established in 2007

The EU-Canada Green Alliance was established to strengthen and further align the EU and Canada’s objectives on energy, climate action, the environment, research and innovation and climate and biodiversity financing.

It includes a joint commitment to promoting ambitious climate action on the global stage through supporting developing countries and emerging economies, pursuing global energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and advancing work to reduce methane emissions.

Under the alliance, the EU also became a partner of Canada’s Global Carbon Pricing Challenge, which seeks to increase explicit carbon pricing coverage of global emissions to 60% by 2030 and establishes a forum for enhanced collaboration on emissions trading.

EU-Canada High-Level Energy Dialogue

The High-Level Energy Dialogue was first established in 2007 and revitalised at the EU-Canada Summit in 2014. It covers key areas for cooperation such as energy security, energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy supply chains, including for key resources such as hydrogen, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and nuclear fuels and services as well as methane emissions reduction, cooperation on Ukraine, improved market transparency and stability and cooperation in international fora, such as G7 and G20, the International Renewal Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) and explores future cooperation though the Global Energy Transition Forum.

Recognising the essential role that clean hydrogen will play in decarbonising our economies and meeting global energy needs, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed at the EU Canada Summit on 23-24 November 2023 to lay the foundation for the development of a reliable hydrogen supply chain between Canada and the EU, as well as to develop common approaches to standards and the certification of hydrogen. The 2 sides deepened their joint work to advance the commercialisation of the hydrogen industry and develop transatlantic trade.

As also agreed by leaders, the EU and Canada collaborate closely on tackling methane emissions in the energy sector, not least due to their significant roles in the global fossil fuel market as a major importer and exporter respectively. This cooperation includes leadership in relevant international fora such as the Global Methane Pledge, where both are major donors, and on regulatory systems and best practice. Recent actions have included a joint workshop series involving the private sector and academia/civil society, which should lead to a roadmap for continued collaboration.

The most recent High-Level Energy Dialogue took place on 11 March 2025 in Houston. 

EU-Canada workshops

Several workshops on different energy-related issues have been organised by the Commission and Canada in the past years.

Following the 2020 workshop on energy efficiency, a series of 5 'Canada-EU exchange' webinars were carried out in the first half of 2021. 

Under the EU Climate Dialogues Programme, the Commission has organised another series of workshops in the second half of 2023 and 2024, focussing on methane emissions reduction. The outcome of the dialogues will provide the basis for the drafting of the EU Canada joint roadmap on methane agreed in November 2023. More information on these events and the link to follow the webinars are added to the list below.

• 20 June 2024 - EU-Canada Dialogue on Methane | Final Policy Discussion
• 15 May 2024 - CanCH4 Symposium Special Event 
• 14 March 2024 - EU-Canada Dialogue on Methane – Business-to-Business sessions
• 23 January 2024 - Boosting transparency and bilateral action on methane mitigation to meet net-zero targets amidst new regulations in Canada and the EU
• 14 September 2023 – EU-Canada Dialogue on Methane – Towards a measurement-based methane emissions framework

Documents