Germany warns Canada that Europe's appetite for natural gas is set to shrink
CBC
A top German envoy is pouring cold water on calls for Canada to ramp up natural gas exports to Europe.
In a briefing for journalists at Germany's embassy in Ottawa on Friday, Jennifer Morgan, the country's state secretary and special envoy for international climate action, warned that Germany and Europe will require less natural gas from countries like Canada in future.
"All studies show that the market is going to shrink," Morgan said. "Germany will be driving forward on renewables, and gas demand will decline."
Morgan, a U.S.-born former head of Greenpeace International, is Germany's first special envoy for international climate policy. She represents Europe's biggest economy and largest emitter and works frequently with her Canadian counterpart, Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Morgan said that, like Canada, Germany has a binding law on reducing emissions — but it intends to achieve net-zero by 2045, half a decade before Canada expects to hit that target. She suggested the role natural gas plays in Germany's economy is set to diminish.
"It is a part of the transition, but it is not the long term," Morgan told reporters.
She cited studies and projections showing that Germany is expected to reduce its gas imports by 30 per cent by 2030 and 96 per cent by 2050. She said Europe is also expected to reduce natural gas imports by about 25 per cent by the end of this decade.
Morgan said these are projections, not targets.
Europe's waning appetite for natural gas can be attributed in large part to Russia's war on Ukraine. Russia was once a significant supplier of natural gas to Europe; it has been accused of throttling that supply in retaliation for crippling sanctions imposed by Germany and other Western allies.
More than 40 per cent of Europe's natural gas came from Russia before it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That share of the European natural gas market has now plummeted to less than 15 per cent. Norway became the EU's top gas supplier in 2023, followed by the United States and North Africa.
When asked whether Germany needs Canadian natural gas to replenish its stockpiles, Morgan said her country increasingly relies on renewables.
"We need to continue to have imports on LNG in the future, but currently, our gas reserves are full," Morgan said.
Morgan cited Germany's growing reliance on energy efficiency measures and renewables in its electricity grid, saying these now account for 60 per cent of electricity output.
The envoy's remarks would come as no surprise to energy market experts, who have argued that Canadian liquefied natural gas won't address the European Union's short-term energy needs.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
A suspended Moncton structural engineer faces more lawsuits alleging design flaws in buildings that require repair.
Sajjade Tugano has come a long way since he first set foot in Chibougamau, six hours north of Quebec City, in the depths of winter in November 2021.
A national mentor-based hockey organization that helps marginalized youth through the sport is paying tribute to one of its members and youngest coaches.
After months of asking the City of Saskatoon to do more to solve its homelessness crisis, advocate David Fineday took to the stand at city council Tuesday.
A community organization wants to breathe new life into a historic building in Regina.
Some Prince County residents are walking away with more answers after attending Tuesday night's public information session in Albany, P.E.I., on the Wejipek Wind Project.
After just a few months of using vape detectors in a couple of bathrooms, a B.C. high school principal says it's reduced vape use in those areas to basically zero.
Burlington MP Karina Gould gets boost from local young people after entering Liberal leadership race
A day after entering the Liberal leadership race, Burlington, Ont., MP and government House leader Karina Gould was cheered at a campaign launch party by local residents — including young people expressing hope the 37-year-old politician will represent their voices.
Anold Mulaisho was born intersex and wonders where they fit in, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order for the United States to recognize only two sexes, male and female.
WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
Subway service is down on Line 1 between Sheppard West and Lawrence West due to a broken power rail, the TTC said Wednesday morning.
A long-term care home in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood has cleared one more hurdle to add desperately needed beds to its property, a move that's been praised by housing advocates but opposed by locals concerned about the impact on the neighbourhood.
A Charlottetown resident is calling on the P.E.I. government to do more to protect homeowners after reading about a recent oil spill very similar to one on his Montague property 20 years ago, which he says ruined him financially.
WARNING: This story includes details of abuse.
Two years after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared she was taking the unprecedented step of moving to confiscate millions of dollars from a sanctioned Russian oligarch with assets in Canada, the government has not actually begun the court process to forfeit the money, let alone to hand it over to Ukrainian reconstruction — and it may never happen.
Alberta business and oilpatch leaders are returning home from Washington this week after the U.S. presidential inauguration festivities — and gritting their teeth after a roller-coaster of emotions.
Youth workers in Toronto's Jane and Finch area are flipping the script on negative stereotypes about their communities with a new fundraising campaign that offers anti-bias training in exchange for donations to bolster their programming.
In a sudden move that came late Tuesday evening, city officials rolled out cots and temporarily opened a warm building in east London as frigid temperatures continued.