At the 4th Industrial Carbon Management Forum in Pau, France, on Thursday 10 October, the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, stated that CO2 capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) would remain a priority on the European Commission’s agenda during its new term.
2024 was a “pivotal year” for industrial carbon management in Europe, according to the Commissioner, particularly with the Commission’s publication last February of a strategy for stepping up carbon management (see EUROPE 13344/2).
“The message is clear: carbon capture, utilisation and storage will play a major role in our journey to 2050”, she said, recalling the commitment to 50 million tonnes of CO2 storage capacity per year by 2030, set out in the ‘Net-Zero’ Industry Act.
The main challenges that remain, according to Ms Simson, are the high investment costs, the lack of coordination between carbon management industries and the regulatory disparities between Member States.
Ms Simson believes that introducing a comprehensive European regulatory package on the transport of CO2 to storage sites within the EU would be the solution to guarantee “fair, open access to an integrated, multimodal CO2 network, diminishing risks and driving down costs for those championing these projects”.
She indicated that the preparatory work had begun, but that it would be up to her successor, potentially Dan Jørgensen (see EUROPE 13500/14), to take it forward. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)