Unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin Territories [OTTAWA], 27 October 2026:
Ahead of the EU-Canada Summit on 29-30 October in Montreal, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe and Climate Action Network Canada (CAN-Rac), together representing over 400 organisations, are calling on European and Canadian leaders to put ambitious climate action at the heart of their deepening partnership.
As leaders prepare to shape the Canada-EU Alliance for the Future, announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address last month, CAN Europe and CAN-Rac issued a joint statement urging them to build a partnership that takes our planet, economies and societies into a prosperous next chapter.
With multilateralism under pressure, the climate crisis intensifying, and with COP31 just over a week after the summit, the alliance must help build a resilient, affordable and fossil free energy future. Yet the organisations warn that the current draft summit statement lacks the decisive commitments needed to deliver on a global just transition.
The urgency is clear. Across Canada and Europe, devastating wildfires, extreme heatwaves and floods are taking an increasing toll on communities, with mounting human and economic costs. In Europe alone, this summer’s heatwaves caused more than 30,000 excess deaths, with economic losses estimated at €180 billion. In Canada, wildfires across the country, made twice more likely and more intense due to human-caused climate change, have forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.
As a major fossil fuel producer and importer, respectively, Canada and the EU have both a responsibility and the opportunity to increase energy security and affordability by transitioning to a fossil-free energy future. CAN Europe and CAN Canada are calling on leaders to:
- Reinforce the economic, energy security, and climate agenda by building fossil free economies, strengthening climate resilience and ensuring a just transition for workers and communities.
- Make trade diversification a driver of decarbonisation by reducing fossil fuel dependence rather than creating a new LNG supply route to the EU, and building a strong transatlantic trade partnership that supports climate goals.
- Make electrification, grids and energy efficiency priorities by expanding renewables-based electricity, storage, heat pumps and electric vehicles to cut emissions, lower bills and strengthen energy security.
- Demonstrate what values-based cooperation can deliver by defending climate multilateralism, upholding the Paris Agreement and working with countries in the Global South to advance a just transition.
- Reform international finance to deliver climate action by scaling up accessible climate finance, advancing reforms of multilateral development banks and strengthening international tax cooperation to support a just and equitable transition.
Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director, Climate Action Network – Réseau action climat Canada, said:
“The big question for Canada and the EU in this critical geopolitical moment, and right before COP31, is whether this alliance will propel our countries into the future, or anchor us into the past. Let’s use this unique cooperation opportunity to strengthen our economic and energy security through resilient, renewable-based trade cooperation. As we grapple with escalating climate disasters and volatile energy markets, this Canada-EU alliance must cut our dependencies, expand our homegrown energy by doubling down on solutions that empower communities, and accelerate our transitions.
Canada and the EU need not only to stand up to the US; they should stand with the world, with a vision for our collective future and a global order that includes everyone, beyond the North Atlantic.”Chiara Martinelli, Director at Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, said:
“An alliance for the future can only live up to its name if it delivers for people and the planet. With climate impacts intensifying worldwide, geopolitical tensions rising and COP31 just days away, the EU and Canada must show that cooperation can truly address the defining challenges of our time, starting with ambitious climate action.
This means moving beyond fossil fuels towards homegrown renewable energy, while stepping up climate finance and supporting a just transition with Global South countries. That’s the path to a secure, prosperous and affordable future”.
Esther Bollendorff, Fossil Free Program Manager, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, said:
“Canada shouldn’t become Europe’s next gas dealer, but a partner in building a clean and resilient energy future. The proposed feasibility study on long-term LNG exports to Europe is a dangerous distraction from the real resilience and energy security solutions: renewables, renewables-based electrification and energy efficiency. It risks locking in fossil fuel infrastructure, stranded assets and higher bills for consumers on both sides of the Atlantic, while undermining Europe’s climate goals.
After the last two fossil fuel crises, both linked to the EU’s overreliance on external fossil fuel imports – first from Russia and now from the Middle East – we need to move beyond gas to secure cheap and resilient domestic renewable energy sources.”
Climate Action Network Canada and CAN Europe’s joint statement is available here.
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Canada’s farthest-reaching network of organizations working on climate and energy issues, Climate Action Network – Réseau action climat (CAN-Rac) Canada is a coalition of close to 200 organizations operating from coast to coast to coast. Our membership brings environmental groups together with trade unions, First Nations, social justice, development, health and youth organizations, faith groups and local, grassroots initiatives.
For more information, contact:
Audrey Robillard, Interim Communications Manager
audreyrobillard@climateactionnetwork.ca
Alessia Luzzati, Communications Officer at CAN Europe
alessia.luzzati@caneurope.org