Carbon capture and utilisation is unfit for 55

The author contends that the European Commission's proposal to exempt CCU from the EU carbon market is flawed because it defines 'permanent storage' too narrowly, ignoring the end-of-life release of carbon from products like plastics and the emissions generated during the CCU production process.

• The European Commission's proposal for the 'Fit for 55' revamp of the EU ETS would allow companies to exempt pollution from the carbon market if carbon is 'permanently chemically bound in a product' and does not enter the atmosphere during 'normal use'.
• The current definition of permanent storage is insufficient because it ignores the end-of-life phase of products; for example, a plastic bag does not release carbon during 'normal use' but releases it when decomposed in landfills or burned in incinerators.
• A loophole exists because incinerators are not part of the EU carbon market, meaning carbon shifted from the carbon market to the incineration sector allows polluters to avoid payment entirely.
• The CCU process itself may be highly emitting if the carbon source is fossil-based or the electricity used for production is fossil fuel-based, necessitating a full value chain emission calculation to ensure a net decrease in emissions.

APA

Stoefs, W. (2021). Carbon capture and utilisation is unfit for 55. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2021/09/28/carbon-capture-and-utilisation-is-unfit-for-55/

Chicago

Stoefs, Wijnand. Carbon capture and utilisation is unfit for 55. Carbon Market Watch, 2021. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2021/09/28/carbon-capture-and-utilisation-is-unfit-for-55/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Stoefs |first1=Wijnand |title=Carbon capture and utilisation is unfit for 55 |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=28 September 2021 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2021/09/28/carbon-capture-and-utilisation-is-unfit-for-55/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{stoefs2021carbon, author = {Stoefs, Wijnand}, title = {{Carbon capture and utilisation is unfit for 55}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2021/09/28/carbon-capture-and-utilisation-is-unfit-for-55/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }