Carbon Capture and Storage Directive to be Reviewed

Ricardo-AEA (UK), in collaboration with Triple E Consulting (TEC) and research organisation TNO, has won a major European Commission contract to support an evaluation study of the EU Directive covering carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

Directive 2009/31/EC on the geological storage of carbon dioxide – known as the CCS Directive – has been in place since 2009 and sets out a legal framework for the safe geological storage of carbon dioxide within the EU. It lays down requirements covering the entire lifetime of a storage site, as well as provisions on the capture and transport components of CCS. Member States were given until June 25 2011 to transpose the CCS Directive into national laws.

The Commission is required by Article 38 in the CCS Directive to review its implementation and is due to submit a report on this to the European Parliament and Council by 31 March 2015. Ricardo-AEA, TEC and TNO will be working on an evaluation study in support of this review for the Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action. The project will deliver a comprehensive assessment of the CCS Directive including a wide-ranging stakeholder consultation, literature review and detailed report with recommendations on how the Directive should develop.

“In order to deliver the reductions in carbon emissions needed to avert dangerous climate change we expect that contributions from CCS technology will be required,” said Dr Naser Odeh, a principal consultant at Ricardo-AEA. “Indeed, the Commission's proposal for a 2030 climate and energy policy framework acknowledges the role of CCS in helping to reach the EU's long-term emissions reduction goal. However cost remains an important barrier to the take-up of CCS so increased research efforts and commercial demonstrations are essential over the next decade. We look forward to evaluating the CCS Directive as a supportive EU framework will be necessary to help accelerate technology deployment.”