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Canada and Germany are both pursuing major energy transitions and far-reaching climate programs but differ in terms of policies towards some energy sources and their preferred policy instruments. Both countries have committed to large scale emission reductions despite the challenge of regional divestment from fossil fuels: hard coal in North Rhine Westphalia and the Saarland; lignite in the Rhineland, on the German-Polish border in the Lusatsia (Lausitz) region, and in central Germany; coal in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia; and oil in Western Canada. We contrast the current Pan Canadian framework (PCF) on Clean Growth and Climate Change to the German Climate Law and the European Green Deal setting targets to become climate neutral by 2050. Germany has plans for a dual phase out of nuclear energy by 2022 and coal by 2038. In contrast, Canada differs by province in terms of policies on fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Both are leaders in renewable energies, but differ in the type of renewable energy which dominates. We further examine the international action components of the PCF and its implications for collaboration with Germany and the EU. We discuss potential partnerships and strategic alliances between Canada and Germany in the context of their mutual interest to enable an energy transition and to lead to the implementation of the Paris agreement for climate change action. We identify political challenges within each federation, and especially the approach to impacted coal regions in Germany and Poland as well as the Canadian oil sands. Barriers to progress for meeting identified targets and timelines are considered. We conclude with insights on the possibility and likelihood of linking policies and regulatory measures across the Atlantic, and the political threats of advancing towards decarbonization and an energy transition away from fossil fuels in each jurisdiction.

Additional file 4: Fig S4. Lymphoid and myeloid populations of the spleen remain unaltered 7 days after the splenic denervation procedure. The frequency of the main lymphoid (T and B lymphocytes) and myeloid populations (monocytes (CD11b+Ly6G-Ly6C+) and neutrophils (CD11b+Ly6G+Ly6C+)) were analyzed 7d after the thermoablation of the splenic innervation or sham surgery. A - Experimental setup. B – Frequency of T lymphocytes (CD3+ cells). C – Frequency of B lymphocytes (CD19+). D- Frequency of myeloid cells (CD11b+). E – Frequency of neutrophils (CD11b+Ly6G+Ly6C+). F – Frequency of monocytes (CD11B+Ly6G-Ly6C+). N (sham) = 5; n (Dxn) = 8. Statistical tests: B-F – unpaired t-test. Results expressed as mean +/- S.E.M.

Additional file 3: Fig S3. Thermoablation of the splenic nerve does not lead to long-term major gross alterations in spleen and ablates all sympathetic terminals innervating the spleen parenchyma. A and B – The splenic artery (containing the splenic nerve) was dissected after de denervation procedure and prepared for whole-mount immunostaining (TH) for confirmation of the denervation site. The denervation site was located right before the first bifurcation of the splenic artery. Scale bar - 200 μm. C-E – In another set of animals, spleens were harvested 30 days after splenic denervation and immunostained for TH for excluding any long-term re-innervation phenomena. No sympathetic fibers could be observed 30 days after Dxn. Scale bar - 100 μm. F - Hematoxylin-eosin staining of spleens from denervated or sham-operated mice 30 days after Dxn. No major alterations in the histoarchitecture of the spleen can be observed 30d after denervation. Results expressed as mean +/- S.E.M.

Additional file 1: Fig. S1. Western blots for tyrosine hydroxylase and βIII-tubulin. Protein of interest optical density (O.D.) was normalized for the actin O.D.

Additional file 5: Fig S5. Splenectomy prevents neutrophil’s infiltration 24 h after SCI. A– Schematic representation of the sympathetic signaling interruption by splenectomy. The infiltration of inflammatory cells after SCI was analyzed 24 h after SCI in mice with and without the spleen (sham surgery vs splenectomy) and compared to laminectomy and control animals. Created with BioRender.com . B – Single-cell suspensions of the spinal cord were analyzed by flow cytometry for the main infiltrative innate myeloid cells through the expression of CD11b+CD45high (infiltrative innate myeloid cells); Ly6G+Ly6C+ (neutrophils) and Ly6G-Ly6C+ (both gated on CD11b+CD45+) monocytes. N (Ctrl)= 3; n (lam) =3; n (SCI) = 2; n (SCI+Splx) = 4. Statistical tests: B – two-way ANOVA with Sidak’s multiple comparisons test. Results expressed as mean +/- S.E.M. n.s – non-significant. * p

Additional file 6: Fig S6. Gating strategy used for flow cytometry analysis of spinal cord single-cell suspensions. Doublets were excluded by FSC-A vs FSC-H scatter. Live leukocytes were gated after excluding 7-AAD+ cells and selecting CD45+ cells. Infiltrative leukocytes (and possibly some activated microglia), were selected by high expression of CD45 and CD11b. Neutrophils were selected by double-positive expression of Ly6G and Ly6C.

Additional file 2: Fig. S2. Spleen weight and cell concentration remain unaltered at 24 h after SCI. A – Spleen weight is similar between control, laminectomy (sham-operated) and SCI animals at 24 hpi and also after normalizing for body weight (B). C - Concentration of splenocytes between laminectomy and SCI remained the same at 24 hpi. Results expressed as mean +/- S.E.M.