Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting of the CCS Expert Group, CCS Europe calls on the European Commission and Member States to ensure the NZIA’s CO₂ storage obligation is implemented without delay or dilution.
The NZIA marked a major step forward for CCS in Europe. For the first time, the EU has set a legally binding target of at least 50 million tonnes of annual CO₂ injection capacity by 2030. Without that capacity, there is no credible decarbonisation pathway for for hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, lime, steel, chemicals, refining or waste-to-energy.
“The NZIA gave Europe the target. Now, European industry needs to deliver the tonnes,” said Bergur Løkke Rasmussen, Director of CCS Europe. “The target of fifty million tonnes by 2030 will not be delivered by ambition alone. It requires permits, projects, infrastructure, and investment certainty,” he added.
CCS Europe welcomes the Commission’s work on implementing the obligation for oil and gas producers to contribute to the Union-wide storage target. However, CO₂ storage projects take years to develop, and the timeline to 2030 is extremely tight.
CCS Europe calls for meaningful penalties for non-compliance. While the Commission’s work to develop guidance on NZIA penalties is key, Member States must now act without delay to ensure penalties are set at a level that is effective, proportionate and genuinely dissuasive. This is necessary to preserve the integrity of the obligation, provide legal certainty, and support timely investment and delivery.
CCS Europe also stresses that storage capacity alone will not create a functioning CCS market. The NZIA target must be connected to CO₂ transport infrastructure, open access rules, cross-border coordination and a genuine European CO₂ transport and storage market.