Bellona Europa has endorsed an open letter, alongside 51 leading industries and civil society organisations across Europe, to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The letter underscores the urgent need to scale up Industrial Carbon Management in order to support European Industry’s decarbonisation while meeting our climate objectives and safeguarding its international competitiveness.
The letter calls on the new European leadership to act boldly now and take concrete steps to urgently scale up CCS and CCU initiatives in Europe by developing an EU action plan for CCS to be implemented by the next Commissioner responsible for Industrial Carbon Management.
The EU CCS action plan should include among others:
1. A regulatory framework for CO2 transport that addresses the need to reduce risks to providers, streamlines permitting procedures to facilitate the development and deployment of CCS and CCU projects, and sets common standards for CO2 specifications in Europe.
2. Advancement of the market for low-carbon industrial products, molecules and services which can be produced through industrial carbon management.
3. Ensuring the provision of sufficient access to CO2 transport and storage infrastructure for industries across Europe, paying regard to the needs of geographic balance.
4. Creation of an EU CCS Alliance, bringing together industry players across the value chain. 5. Introduction of financial support mechanisms, including grants, subsidies, and tax incentives, to create a business case for private sector investment