The Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA), the leading CCUS trade association in Europe, has released the report “Accelerating a Europe-wide CO2 storage market”.

The report, based on modelling and analysis by Xodus Group – is clear: enabling cross-border CO2 transport and storage is critical for reducing emissions efficiently and on time. The European Commission and national governments can make this a reality.

Expanding the CO2 market across Europe, including the UK, is an effective way to lower emissions and storage costs. As of right now, policy remains the largest obstacle to transporting CO2 across the EU-UK border, which would otherwise be technically feasible.

Cross-border CO2 transport and storage would create economic benefits for industrial emitters across EU Member States, other EEA countries and the UK, supporting existing and new jobs across Europe.

To do so, the European Commission and the UK Government can take concrete actions that would send a strong signal to European businesses. These actions are:

• Establish a bilateral agreement between the EU and the UK under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) to enable mutual recognition of each jurisdiction’s CCS regulatory regime.
• Amend EU and UK Emission Trading Schemes to accommodate CO2 storage outside the EU and EEA.

As CCUS projects progress in the EU, Norway and the UK – with the first sites beginning operations as soon as 2026 – enabling cross-border CO2 transport and storage would make these systems more resilient.

We need to act quickly before higher-cost options are locked in and the opportunity is lost.

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