Geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂)

The Commission adopted the climate action progress report, including the report on the functioning of the European carbon market and the report on the review of Directive 2009/31/EC on the geological storage of carbon dioxide.

The main conclusions of the report are as follows:

Progress towards meeting the Europe 2020 targets and the Kyoto Protocol targets: the report notes that the EU is currently on track towards meeting its Europe 2020 greenhouse gas reduction target as well as its Kyoto Protocol targets:

• according to most recent estimates, in 2014 total EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions covered by the 2020 Climate and Energy Package were 23% below the 1990 level and decreased by 4% compared to 2013;
• according to the projections with existing measures provided by Member States in 2015, emissions are estimated to be 24% lower in 2020 than they were in 1990.
• for all but four Member States (Luxembourg, Ireland, Belgium and Austria), projected emissions in 2020 are below the domestic targets set under the Effort Sharing Decision.

Further measures needed: according to the projections with existing measures provided by Member States, total EU GHG emissions in 2030 are estimated to be 27% below 1990 levels. Additional measures are needed for the EU to meet the target of a domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 40 % by 2030 compared to 1990.

To address this, the Commission has proposed a revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in July 2015. In the first half of 2016, the Commission will also make proposals on the implementation of the non-ETS emissions reduction target of 30% compared to 2005.

Continued successful decoupling of economic activity and GHG emissions: the EU continues to successfully decouple its economic growth from its GHG emissions. During the 1990-2014 period, the EU’s combined GDP grew by 46%, while total GHG emissions (excluding LULUCF and including international aviation) decreased by 23 %. In particular, the implementation of the 2020 Climate and Energy Package has resulted in a significant increase in renewable energy and progress in energy efficiency. Both of these are the key drivers behind the observed reduction in emissions, with the carbon price acting as driving force expected to be progressively stronger in the future.

The report indicates that the Commission is also rolling out the initiatives planned under the ‘Framework strategy for a resilient Energy Union with a forward-looking climate policy’. There are upcoming proposals on measures related to areas including renewable energy, energy efficiency, transport, and research and development. Furthermore, the Commission is working on the implementation the Energy Union.

Carbon Capture and Storage: the Commission has carried out an evaluation on the Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) Directive and concluded that the Directive is fit-for-purpose and sets up the necessary regulatory framework to ensure the safe capture, transport and storage of carbon dioxide while allowing the Member States sufficient flexibility.

The report on the review of the CCS Directive, as required under its Article 38, is included in the annex to this report. It addresses the evaluation of the Directive’s performance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and EU-added value under the Commission’s REFIT programme.