EU regulation of cross-border carbon capture and storage

1. EU regulation of cross-border carbon capture and storage Legal issues under the CCS Directive in the light of primary EU law EU regulation of cross-border carbon capture and storage Legal issues under the CCS Directive in the light of primary EU law Marijn Holwerda Groningen Centre of Energy Law

2. Introduction - I • Importance of cross-border EU CCS deployment growing • Poor public acceptance onshore CO2 storage (e.g., NL, GER, DK) • Industry interest in offshore enhanced oil recovery • CCS Directive not drafted to facilitate cross-border CCS • Only two provisions mention cross-border CO2 transport/storage • Arts 22(2) and 24 deal with it in a very rudimentary manner

3. Introduction - II • In fact, several provisions could hinder cross-border CCS: • Art. 12(1) [CO2 stream purity criteria] • Art. 21(2)(b)&(c) [refusing access to CCS infrastructure] • Arts 19 and 20 [financial safeguards] • But, they exist in the context of primary EU law

4. Research questions • Selected a number of potentially hindering issues • To answer the following two research questions: • To what extent could these issues indeed hinder future cross-border deployment of CCS in the EU? • To what extent is the legislative approach of the CCS Directive likely to lead to problems for the cross-border deployment of new technogies such as CCS?

5. Findings - I • First research question: • Most issues not likely to hinder cross-border CCS • Second research question: • On the whole: primary EU law provides proper safety net

6. Findings - II • Yet, some problems remain • Biggest problem: availability and accessibility of CO2 transport and storage infrastructure • Possible solutions: • Amendment of CCS Directive after review • Common EU strategy for CO2 transport and storage

7. Thank you for your attention!