One silver lining of the Trump administration’s economic hostility toward Canada and other countries is that it has sparked new and renewed conversations internationally. More specifically, it has led many to prioritize relationships based on shared values, collective interests, and mutual trust in areas of high importance.
Following this, Canada and Germany are obvious candidates for enhanced cooperation. Indeed, there should not only be consideration of deepening such bilateral links, but there should also be action. These two countries should double-down upon their existing collaborations — in particular, their energy partnership —by adding focus to the ways in which individuals and communities can accelerate a sustainable energy transition.
Canada and Germany — two countries that already have a strong record of bilateral political, economic, security and other relations — launched an energy partnership in March 2021. A high-profile meeting between the two heads of government took place a year later, with the establishment of a Canada-Germany Hydrogen Alliance being one of the centrepieces. Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and the United States president’s calls for Canada to become the 51st state have further catalyzed connections. For Canada and Germany, energy security and decarbonization are among shared priorities.
While every country’s energy transition is unique, because local and national quirks and characteristics around history, geography and culture shape outcomes, sharing experiences and co-creating a vision of the future can be impactful. Each can learn from the other, and critical knowledge can be pooled to advance along mutually desirable pathways. The rationale for this is all the stronger when the comparators are akin: federalism, a commitment to the rule of law, and a mixed market economy are three of many similarities between Canada and Germany.
Consider three examples of how this foundation could be usefully leveraged to advance a sustainable energy transition.
Digitalization, it is widely accepted, will be an important part of a sustainable energy transition. The ability to measure and manage energy generators (e.g., solar panels), energy storage devices and energy loads locally will be indispensable to increasing reliability and reducing system costs through improved efficiencies. Additionally, respect for privacy and ensuring inclusion are just two of the socio-political issues that must be addressed in parallel (if not earlier) with technological change.
To date, Canada has more experience than Germany with respect to one part of this — namely, smart meters. There is approximately 80 per cent deployment in Canada as compared to approximately five per cent in Germany. Many of Canada’s experiences — in multiple generations of smart meter technology, in the development of smart grids through collaborative pilot projects, and in working to understand acceptance by communities around installations — could be useful input for German leaders and communities.
Other lessons could go the other way across the Atlantic.
Renewable energy resources and electricity infrastructure have central roles in many energy transitions. Siting projects and constructing transmission are particularly salient issues going forward because, to increase solar and wind power, the generation station now has to move to the resource, rather than the resource moving closer to the load (as is often the case in fossil fuels). Both countries have demonstrated a growing interest in infrastructure projects — in Canada, that has been shown through public views on transnational pipelines and in Germany, through recent legislation on debt reform. Thus, there is an active public discussion around how best to ‘build things’ in both Canada and Germany.
In Canada recently, the introduction of the One Canadian Economy Act brought with it a proposal to accelerate the realization of major, nation-building projects through, among other things, the work of a federal major projects office that will coordinate and expedite the required reviews. Speed in permitting, however, cannot mean sacrificing other priorities, and sustainability must be at the core of any new procedures going forward.
Germany’s previous, and potential future, experience in the introduction of so-called “acceleration areas” for renewable energy and energy storage systems, whereby approvals are expedited — while nevertheless recognizing the importance of support from the federal states and regional institutions — could feed into the development of Canadian plans.
The two countries also face similar opportunities and challenges in light of the ongoing sustainable energy transition. Charting and following a path that not only advances energy goals, but also improves individuals’ livelihoods, promotes community thriving, and progresses national development ambitions, is critical.
Energy poverty, for one, remains an important issue in each country, with some households having to make choices like ‘heat or eat?’ Approaches that leave no one behind are required and can be strengthened by collaboration.
Energy will remain an essential foundation of, and a necessary catalyst for, economic advancement and community prosperity. By sharing and co-creating understanding of the ways in which individuals and communities are part of a sustainable energy transition, Canada and Germany can advance both national and global sustainability.
Ian H. Rowlands, Sarah Burch, and Juan Moreno-Cruz are all with the faculty of environment and the Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo.
Elisabeth Dütschke is with the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research in Germany. Dirk Scheer and Daniel Sloot are both with Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
Supported by the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, the authors convened a virtual workshop in April 2025 involving approximately 50 of their Canadian and German colleagues to share research perspectives and to develop strategies for further collaborative work on the roles of individuals and communities in sustainable energy transitions.
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