Dutch, Danish to intensify cooperation on carbon capture, storage

Denmark and the Netherlands signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Monday on the sidelines of the EU Environment Council in Luxembourg, pledging to cooperate on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and CO2 transport.

CCS technology allows CO2 to be removed from the atmosphere and stored underground, thus offsetting carbon emissions. While proponents argue that the technology is crucial for the EU to reach its climate goals, sceptics fear that it may be a blank cheque for the industry to continue polluting.

The EU Commission set out a target of 50 million tonnes of annual carbon dioxide injection capacity by 2030 back in March.

“Underground CO2 storage is a short-term, cost-effective measure for reducing greenhouse gases. Moreover, the development of CO2 storage projects contributes to carbon removal in the future,” Dutch Climate Minister Rob Jetten (D66/Renew) stated following the signing alongside his Danish counterpart Lars Aagaard.

“In doing so, we are taking important steps towards an open European market for CO2 storage that contributes to Europe’s climate goals and economy,” he added.

The Memorandum of Understanding, which follows a similar trilateral agreement with Belgium, enables the transport of CO2 between the two countries, which can then be stored in empty oil and gas fields within both countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) in the North Sea.

“In Denmark, we’re fortunate to have more storage space for carbon emissions than we emit, and the Netherlands have ambitious plans on the agenda with their hub projects – combining our forces and tying together the market will be essential to build up the industry and reach the EU-climate goals,” said Aagaard, as cited in a Danish Energy Ministry press release.

The two countries had previously already teamed up to increase cooperation in green hydrogen with Namibia in June.

During the Climate Council on Monday, both countries reiterated that the EU should phase out all fossil fuels, in contrast to other, more cautious member states like Hungary or Italy. To achieve this goal, the Dutch have called on the EU to phase out all fossil fuel subsidies by 2025 – despite recent findings showing the country still supports fossil fuels with larger subsidies than previously thought.

(Benedikt Stöckl | Euractiv.com)