Analysis of the legislative and regulatory framework of CO2 capture, transport and storage systems in targeted European countries

Abstract

The installation and operation of infrastructures for carbon capture, transport and storage of CO2 to reduce CO2 emissions from power plants and carbon-intensive industries, is of major importance to fulfil the targets for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. The industrial sector is considered a major contributor to CO2 emissions. Carbon dioxide Capture and geological Storage (CCS) is currently the only technology considered to be able to directly decarbonise industrial facilities such as cement, petrochemical, and steel industries, without requiring a complete rethinking of the industrial sectors. Although CCS technologies contribute to climate change mitigation, the number of CCS installations constructed in Europe is weaker than expected, among others, due to several aspects of the CCS legal framework implementation and legal gaps. For this purpose, the MOF4AIR European project performed an overall assessment of the legislative and regulatory framework in the EU on the capture, transport and storage systems of CO2. This paper presents the results of the assessment; an analysis of the legislative and regulatory conditions in MOF4AIR participating countries; a comparison between the examined countries on the legislative framework and a set of recommendations for the improvement of the legal framework.