Recommendations for the EU Industrial Carbon Management Strategy

The report argues that CCS is essential for the EU to reach climate neutrality by 2050, noting that current deployment rates are far below required levels and that no operational CO2 storage sites currently exist within the EU. It recommends setting clear deployment targets for CCS, DACCS, and BECCS, and establishing a strategic plan to distribute storage basins across the region by 2035 to avoid over-reliance on the North Sea. To address financial barriers, the author suggests coordinating funding, using carbon contracts for difference (CfDs), and creating a dedicated tender for capture capacity. The report also emphasizes the need for a common regulatory framework for cross-border CO2 transport, the creation of an aggregation platform to match CO2 sources with sinks, and the development of market demand for near-zero carbon products. Finally, it advocates for the prioritization of permanent industrial carbon removals (DACCS and BECCS) and their gradual integration into compliance markets like the EU ETS, provided robust standards and monitoring are in place.

• CCS is considered essential for the EU to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, with estimates suggesting the need to capture between 400 and 600 million tonnes of CO2 annually by that date.
• There is a significant regional imbalance in CO2 storage development, with the North Sea dominating while other regions like the Mediterranean and Black Sea have far fewer proposed sites, which could increase overall costs by up to three times.
• The report recommends establishing an aggregation platform for CO2 capture and storage to optimize source-sink matching and provide visibility for developers on cost-effective storage options.
• To overcome the 'chicken and egg' problem of infrastructure investment, the author suggests developing 'oversized', forward-looking transport networks that can accommodate future demand beyond initial anchor loads.
• A common regulatory framework for cross-border CO2 transport is urgently needed to ensure non-discriminatory access and interoperability, including the creation of a CO2 infrastructure network operator similar to ENTSO-E and ENTSO-G.
• The report suggests that the EU should move beyond subsidies by using product standards and government procurement to create market demand for near-zero carbon materials in sectors like steel and cement.
• The author argues for the prioritization of CCS-based industrial carbon removals, specifically Direct Air Capture with Carbon Storage (DACCS) and Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), over less permanent methods like biochar.
• The report recommends setting indicative EU-wide deployment targets for DACCS and BECCS and creating a distinct policy pillar for permanent industrial carbon removals alongside the ETS, ESR, and LULUCF.
• Integration of industrial carbon removals into compliance markets like the EU ETS should be gradual and based on a solid foundation of monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) to avoid undermining emission reductions.

APA

Pernot, E., Rossi, C., & Lockwood, T. (2024). Recommendations for the EU Industrial Carbon Management Strategy. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/22113801/CATF_EU_Carbon_Management_Strategy_Response.pdf

Chicago

Pernot, Eadbhard, Codie Rossi, and Toby Lockwood. Recommendations for the EU Industrial Carbon Management Strategy. Clean Air Task Force, 2024. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/22113801/CATF_EU_Carbon_Management_Strategy_Response.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pernot |first1=Eadbhard |last2=Rossi |first2=Codie |last3=Lockwood |first3=Toby |title=Recommendations for the EU Industrial Carbon Management Strategy |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=January 2024 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/22113801/CATF_EU_Carbon_Management_Strategy_Response.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pernot2024recommendations, author = {Pernot, Eadbhard and Rossi, Codie and Lockwood, Toby}, title = {{Recommendations for the EU Industrial Carbon Management Strategy}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/22113801/CATF_EU_Carbon_Management_Strategy_Response.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }