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Publish date: December 20, 2022
News
As the Fit for 55 package nears completion, the carbon capture and storage (CCS) discussion has reignited in the EU as it has become clear that it will be needed to cut emissions fast. As CCS moves from planning to deployment, in part with the aid of the EU Innovation Fund, the need for a policy framework, based on a robust set of guiding principles and safeguards is needed to facilitate the deployment of critical infrastructure for industrial decarbonisation at scale by 2030. Deployment of CCS in Europe should prioritise high-value applications, and hard-to-electrify industrial processes with unavoidable process emissions, while also implementing appropriate guardrails. These are necessary to achieve greater public acceptance.
We welcome the European Commission’s announcement to publish its Communication on the Strategic Vision on CCUS in early 2023. However, the European Commission’s recently published Work Programme for 2023 excludes plans to publish said Communication. We strongly urge the Commission to grant such a Communication priority, in line with the need and urgency expressed by CCS stakeholders at the CCUS Forum and the commitment made by European Commission officials present.
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Recent attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "mark the beginning of a new and gravely dangerous front of the war," the UN atomic agency's director general said last week.
After years of inaction, Germany is working on its Carbon Management Strategy to resolve how CCS can play a role in climate action in industry. At the end of February, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action published first key points and a proposal to amend the law Kohlenstoffdioxid Speicherungsgesetz (KSpG). Bellona Deutschland, who was actively involved in the previous stakeholder dialogue submitted a statement in the association hearing.
In the midst of a global discussion on whether natural gas should be used as a transitional fuel and whether emissions from its extraction, production, transport and use are significantly less than those from other fossil fuels, Russia has developed ambitious plans to increase its own production of liquified natural gas (LNG) in the Arctic – a region with 75% of proven gas reserves in Russia – to raise its share in the international gas trade.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our main focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution risks and climate change.