Carbon capture and storage is a costly white elephant – so why is the EU pushing it?

Europe’s plans to deploy carbon capture and storage (CCS) at scale are faltering.

In response, the European Commission is expected this autumn to propose legislation to accelerate and expand the bloc’s carbon dioxide (CO2) transport infrastructure.

The emerging approach risks imposing substantial costs on taxpayers while weakening safeguards for people and nature.

As part of its plans to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the EU envisages a vast industrial infrastructure network to capture, process, transport, and store CO2 — the greenhouse gas best known for its role in driving the climate crisis.

The EU has set a target of at least 50 million tonnes of annual CO2 injection capacity by 2030. The associated transport network needed could span 19,000km by 2050, carrying risky, highly-pressurised CO2 across the continent.