Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources Greg Rickford and Italy’s Minister of Economic Development, Federica Guidi met today in Rome to confirm their common interests in promoting more diverse, transparent and secure global energy markets.
Italy and Canada will continue their energy dialogue on a bilateral basis through their appropriate, designated institutions and through international organizations of which both countries are members. Both countries recognize the benefits of facilitating cooperation and collaboration between companies. This serves to strengthen and expand the Canada-Italy commercial energy relationship to ensure that market opportunities can be realized in a timely manner.
Canada and Italy have identified the following as potential areas for collaboration:
Energy Collaboration
Progress towards energy security can be accelerated by diversifying energy sources and building energy infrastructure in an economically efficient manner. Recent events have emphasized that energy security is a cornerstone of global stability and the world’s market economies need to redouble efforts to develop energy infrastructure to connect markets and support the open trade of energy.
Canada and Italy are seeking to diversify their energy mixes and fostering open investment and trade to help address their energy security and environmental challenges. Bilateral collaboration is essential to advance these common interests. Both countries recognize the important role for reliable, secure and responsible energy suppliers to enhance global security, and the importance of responsible energy use to reduce demand.
Hydrocarbons
Canada and Italy agree to continue their dialogue towards closer collaboration to enhance trade and investment in the field of hydrocarbons.
This collaboration may focus on enhancing the production, transportation and trade of energy products, including oil and LNG, amongst the Canadian, Italian and broader European markets including the development of infrastructure.
Science-Based, Fair and Non-Discriminatory Regulation
Responsible resource development is founded on strong environmental protection and efficient regulatory practices. Canada and Italy believe that regulatory policies should be science-based, open and transparent, and should respect jurisdictional authorities and international agreements. We agree to share best practices and share information on regulatory systems for project development.
Innovation and Responsible Energy Use
Past and present technical and industrial cooperation are concrete examples of how existing commitments are already benefiting both countries. Canada and Italy agree to create a dialogue on the exchange of technology, products and services to assist in furthering the goals of responsible energy use and technology innovation. Canada and Italy have made progress on developing and deploying smart metering and smart grids demonstrating their potential to enhance demand-side management while improving overall electricity system flexibility and overall economic energy intensity.
Canada and Italy will consider options to continue their collaboration on energy efficiency recognizing its importance in addressing the multiple challenges of economic development, energy security and climate change mitigation.
This may include encouraging information sharing on policies and programs to promote energy efficiency, and sharing experiences in the development of smart grids technologies.
Renewable Energy
Canada and Italy recognize that over time advances can be made to realize their renewable energy potential. Taking into account their respective legislation and regulations, both countries share a common interest in promoting institutional and industrial collaboration to strengthen scientific and technical cooperation in the field of renewable energy, including deployment of bioenergy, solar and wind, and integration of variable renewable electricity into the electrical grids.
Signed in Rome on the 6th of May of two thousand and fourteen, in two original copies in the English Language.
The Honourable Greg Rickford
Canada's Minister of Natural
Resources
Federica Guidi
Minister of Economic Development
of the Republic of Italy
