Climate | Carbon dioxide capture is rising to the core of the EU's climate policy

Brussels

of the EU the carbon-neutral goal threatens to slip out of reach without significant investments in carbon dioxide capture, says the European Commission.

The EU's goal is that by the end of this decade, 50 million tons of industrial emissions can be captured and permanently stored. The amount roughly corresponds to Sweden's annual emissions. However, according to the Commission, this is not enough. It estimates that in 2040 it should be possible to capture already 280 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, which roughly corresponds to Spain's annual emissions.

It would require that in a few years carbon dioxide recovery moves from the pilot and study level to large-scale industrial operation. At the moment, there are not even any storage facilities for carbon dioxide in use in the EU.

Commission however, the leap is possible and necessary. It sees carbon dioxide recovery technology as a key way to reduce industrial emissions, the occurrence of which is difficult to prevent by other means. In addition, the recovery of bio-derived emissions can produce negative emissions, i.e. reduce the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere.

On Tuesday, it presented its strategy to accelerate the capture of carbon dioxide.

Technological solutions for capturing, transporting, storing and using carbon dioxide exist to a large extent, but are not fully mature for commercial use. According to the commission, the utilization of technology must be urgently accelerated with innovation support and the right kind of incentives. It may require reforming the EU emissions trading system.

The Commission also hints at the possibility that the EU would set a target for the capture of carbon dioxide in the same way as it has a target for the production of renewable energy.

It is hoped that EU countries will already include estimates of how much carbon dioxide they could capture and store in the climate plans to be submitted in the summer.

Critics warn that the strategy presented by the Commission is very risky if it diverts the main focus of climate action away from emission reductions and strengthening natural carbon sinks.

In the commission's calculations, even capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air plays a significant role in the climate action of the coming decades. However, this technology is at a very early stage, and the cost of recovery is hundreds of euros per ton.

“By relying so heavily on recovery technology, the European Commission is betting on the wrong horse,” says the executive director of the Strategic Perspectives think tank Linda Kalcher. According to the think tank's own estimates, the realistic share of carbon dioxide recovery would be about half of what the commission estimates.

“CCS is too expensive for the energy sector, and other technologies are not mature enough for such widespread use.”

The Commission emphasizes that recovery technology cannot replace natural carbon sinks such as forests.

“Industry's carbon sequestration does not replace, but complements nature's carbon sinks, which are of primary importance for reaching climate goals,” the commission's announcement states.