Brussels, 6 November 2024 -- 

Recognition by Wopke Hoekstra that he will have a personal role to play in promoting deployment of carbon capture and storage has been warmly welcomed by advocacy body CCS Europe.

Responding to a question about CCS from former NZIA rapporteur Christian Ehler (EPP) at his parliamentary hearing, the commissioner-designate for climate, net-zero and clean growth emphasised the need for the Commission to provide leadership on the CCS, as well as financial support, principally from the Innovation Fund.

He also described the deployment of CCS as a necessity for achieving industrial decarbonisation, in response to a question from Annalisa Corrado (S&D).

Director of CCS Europe, Chris Davies, said the commissioner-designate’s call for leadership on CCS was exactly what was needed: "The Commission’s Communication on Industrial Carbon Management calls for 280 million tonnes of CO2 to be captured annually by 2040.  It is a hugely ambitious target. What is needed from the Commission is political leadership to persuade Member States to introduce measures to decarbonise their industries. In Wopke Hoekstra, it looks like we have a leader who is ready to take responsibility for making CCS happen."