Media Releases
CCS part of an ambitious climate neutral future for Europe
28th November 2018
Brussels, 28 November 2018: Ahead of the UN climate talks COP24 in Katowice, the European Commission released its new Strategy for long-term greenhouse gas emission reductions. The new long-term climate strategy sets the tone for Europe’s climate ambition and presents carbon capture and storage (CCS) as part of the solution in the efforts to decarbonise Europe’s economy and energy system.
The Global CCS Institute applauds the vision of the European Commission’s commitment to climate neutrality by 2050. In the newly released strategy, CCS is presented as one of the seven strategic areas in Europe’s pathway to a climate neutral economy.
The strategy recognises the full potential of CCS to deliver deep emissions cuts from energy-intensive industries and as an enabler of negative emissions. It also clearly demonstrates the need to consider all available climate mitigation solutions to achieve the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement.
CCS can bring significant and sustained value to Europe and its Member States. It will be key to support a just transition and guarantee that European industries remain competitive in a low-carbon economy. CCS technologies can also offer new employment opportunities, reskill and retain workers and be an important cornerstone of a new energy economy with the production of hydrogen and CO2 utilisation.
The landmark IPCC 1.5 report has emphasised the importance of CCS in a net-zero future underlining that climate inaction will have severe consequences for our societies. The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report also concluded that mitigation costs will increase by 138% without the inclusion of CCS in the mix.
In light of the publication of the long-term strategy, Guloren Turan, Global CCS Institute’s General Manager, Advocacy, said: “The strategy is an opportunity for Europe to position itself as a leader in the climate space as well as in CCS. This is the start of a realistic conversation on how we are to achieve the Paris goals. To deliver net-zero, Europe needs to embrace CCS alongside all other climate actions. There are many exciting and innovative CCS projects in the region that will play an important role in achieving Europe’s climate targets. This is an opportunity for Europe build a long-term climate vision and the policy confidence needed to help scale-up the commercial deployment of CCS.”
There is a pipeline of pioneering European CCS projects with the potential to bring significant social and economic value for local industries and communities. In Europe, there are currently two operating CCS facilities in Norway and nine CCS facilities in advanced development or early construction. In the last year, there have also been important developments in decarbonised hydrogen. Globally, there are 23 commercial large-scale CCS facilities in operation or construction.
In the next months, the Global CCS Institute hopes to continue to be part of this important discussion towards the development of a formal European Strategy by 2020 and as Member States finalise their national climate plans.