Canada and Spain Sign MOU to Advance Atlantic Green Shipping Corridor

Canada has signed a Green Shipping Corridors Memorandum of Understanding with Spain, making it the third country, alongside Canada and Germany, to join the initiative supporting the development of the Atlantic Green Shipping Corridor. Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon signed the agreement in Madrid, describing it as strengthening sustainable shipping connections between Canada, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Two-way goods and services trade between Canada and Spain totalled $7.9 billion in 2024, with mineral ores, cereals and machinery ranking among Canada's top exports to Spain.

 

The Atlantic MOU was originally signed by Canada on 16 December 2024, with Germany joining as the second signatory before Spain's addition this week. Beyond national governments, several Canadian stakeholders have joined as endorsers, including port authorities, terminal operators and clean fuel suppliers, reflecting the initiative's aim to bring together public and private actors around clean fuels, innovative technologies and modern port infrastructure rather than treating decarbonisation as a government-only effort.

 

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Green shipping corridors trace back to the Clydebank Declaration, which Canada signed at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference to support establishing zero-emission maritime routes between two or more ports. Canadian stakeholders have already pursued similar agreements on routes including Montreal-Antwerp, Halifax-Hamburg, and the Pacific Northwest-Alaska corridor, positioning this Atlantic corridor as an extension of an established Canadian strategy rather than a first attempt at this kind of shipping decarbonisation initiative.

 

Spain's participation is framed around its position as a major maritime nation and growing producer of green hydrogen and renewable fuels, capabilities the release positions as complementary to Canada's own interest in diversifying trading partners and strengthening energy security alongside emissions reduction. Minister MacKinnon said the agreement demonstrated what international collaboration can achieve, welcoming Spain as the newest signatory in a partnership aimed at accelerating the adoption of clean fuels and technologies while strengthening the supply chains connecting Canada to global markets.