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Switzerland Ratifies London Protocol Amendments, Furthering CO2 Storage Development Prospects
25th November 2023
Switzerland has agreed to ratify the Article 6 amendment to the London Protocol, subsequently making way for exporting its CO2 for permanent geological storage.
The move follows a 2022 report by the Federal Council of Switzerland noting the need to scale-up negative emission technologies to support national and international climate targets. Along with exploring options to leverage CO2 storage sites abroad, Switzerland will seek to develop domestic CO2 geologic storage to support net-zero goals.
Initiated in 1996, the London Protocol builds on the 1972 Convention to the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter to protect the marine environment, implementing restrictions to waste as it relates to human activities. In 2009, amendments were made which exempted CO2 intended for permanent storage.
Switzerland is now the eighth state to ratify the amendment, alongside Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Iran, Finland, Estonia and Sweden.