Excerpt – Website of the organizer:
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting global energy crisis in 2022 reinstated energy security to the top of Western policy priorities. It also exposed the degree to which energy is a strategic resource. From Russia’s weaponization of natural gas, to American ascendance in LNG; and from OPEC market regulation to Chinese critical mineral supply chain dominance, energy plays an outsized role in global power and influence.
On paper, Canada is an energy superpower. We are the fourth largest producer of crude oil, the fifth largest producer of natural gas, the second largest producer of hydropower and the second largest producer of uranium. We have the world’s third largest reserves of oil and are the only OECD nation in the top 10. We have reserves of every critical mineral.
Yet uniquely and inexplicably, we have never used our resources in a strategic way to advance our interest and values abroad. Rather, we have relegated ourselves to an afterthought in global energy discussions. This was made painfully clear when German Chancellor Scholz visited Canada in August 2022 to ask for LNG, only to be told that there was “no business case” for it.
In partnership with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, a leading German political foundation, this forum will bring together German and Canadian energy experts, practitioners and thought leaders, to discuss how and why Canada needs to play a bigger role in advancing energy security for our European allies in the coming decades.
