Five European countries – Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands – have taken steps to build closer cooperation within the European Union (EU) on carbon capture and storage (CCS) by signing a declaration that showcases carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) as an essential climate tool. This is seen as an important step in the right direction towards creating a European market for CCUS.
The European Commission’s CCUS Forum in Aalborg, which brings together over 400 key players in the field of CCUS, has enabled Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands to sign the Aalborg Declaration on November 27, 2023. This declaration clinches CCUS’s role in the energy transition era, as these five countries have agreed that CCUS projects need to be scaled up both nationally and at the European level.
This declaration, which is in line with the aim of accelerating the development of a European market for CCUS and associated infrastructure across national borders, underlines that CCUS is “a necessary climate tool,” according to the Danish Energy Agency.
Lars Aagaard, Denmark’s Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, commented: “Today shows that there is a European will, both among us decision-makers and among the industry – and with the Aalborg Declaration, we are moving closer to a common European market for CO2 capture, usage, and storage. This is absolutely essential for the green transition, because CO2 capture, usage, and storage is a step on the ladder towards both our and the EU’s climate goals – and without that step, we will not reach the top.”
