BRUSSELS, Belgium, 1 August 2023 - Austria’s finance minister has announced that the country’s ban on the storage of CO2 will be reconsidered.
On 28 July, Magnus Brunner says the country will spend €5 billion by 2026 on ‘ecological transformation’ and this will include support of carbon capture and storage technology.
Since 2012, the underground storage of CO2, and even the exploration for geological CO2 storage sites, have been forbidden throughout the country.
A national carbon management plan will be presented by the Austrian government next year.
The announcement by the minister has been welcomed by Chris Davies, director of CCS Europe.
He said: "Renewable energy is important but is not the solution to every climate problem. Governments across Europe are facing up to the reality that CCS is one of the tools they will need to use.
"Austria already gets 77% of its electricity from renewable sources, but no amount of green electricity can reduce CO2 emissions from certain industrial processes.
"CCS has an important role to play in helping the EU achieve its ambition of net-zero emissions.”
Chris Davies
Director, CCS Europe