Fellow Members of the Bundestag and the Landtags,
The Canadian Prime Minister has confirmed the visit of your Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Canada in August to discuss energy security and cooperation between Germany and Canada. I have just come from a parliamentary mission to Bavaria and I had the opportunity to discuss at length and in depth with several of you about the energy and climate issues that unite us. I have been able to see the dilemma you face, wanting both to break your dependence on Russian natural gas in the context of the war in Ukraine and to meet your greenhouse gas reduction targets in accordance with the Paris Agreement, the latter element requiring rapid deployment of renewable energy sources.
I also understand that it is with regret that you are temporarily considering the extension of the polluting coal-fired power stations and the nuclear power stations of which Mme Merkel had announced the declassification after the Fukushima disaster. I have also seen your interest in new technologies that appear promising, such as green hydrogen, but which are not yet ready and whose profitability remains to be proven. Finally, I also noticed your thirst for liquefied natural gas (LNG).
I want to tell you one thing: Canadian LNG is not a solution.
I invite you to understand the following distinction: Quebec is not Canada. Quebec is rich in renewable energy, both in production and in know-how and cutting-edge technology. Thanks to the last COP, in Glasgow, Quebec even joined the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) and adopted a law prohibiting today and tomorrow any exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons on its territory.
If Mr. Trudeau says he can supply natural gas to Germany through east coast ports; this means that a pipeline will have to cross Quebec, which opposes this type of infrastructure. A year ago, the Quebec government refused to grant a permit for the construction of a natural gas liquefaction plant in Saguenay — my city — and the Canadian government did the same a few months later.
Why ? There is no social acceptability for this type of project in Quebec. The increase in LNG production would block the necessary energy transition in the targeted markets and would significantly increase GHG emissions in Canada. Even the International Energy Agency says it: all new fossil fuel production must be abandoned.
There is another element that I want to tell you, because I am afraid that Justin Trudeau will not mention it to Mr. Scholz during his visit to Canada. There is a strong push to increase natural gas production in Western Canada, and this would take the form of hydraulic fracturing with the risks that this brings: leaks along the transportation chain, potential groundwater contamination and earthquakes land, in particular. Methane leaks are a powerful contributor to global warming, with methane having a 100-year warming potential 30 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Experts say any additional LNG production would take too long to build in Canada as demand from European markets declines in the coming years due to the growth of renewables, despite the energy crisis caused by Russia.
As I said to your Bavarian colleagues, Quebec wishes to develop solid, long-term relations with Germany in the energy field. We stand in solidarity with you in the current situation and we condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The challenges you have are enormous. I am certain that Quebec will always be there to develop with German genius the best technologies in reducing consumption, energy efficiency, renewable energy, green hydrogen, energy storage, battery sector and in a multitude of other sectors of the green economy.
Let’s seize the opportunity of this crisis so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past and offer a viable planet to future generations. You will pass the message on to Chancellor Scholz when he comes to visit his Canadian counterpart.