France and Austria release ambitious carbon management strategies to combat climate change
France has unveiled its Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) strategy, outlining its roadmap for reducing carbon emissions by capturing CO2 from industrial sources and utilising or storing it to prevent its release into the atmosphere. These technologies will also be critical in helping France reach carbon neutrality through the capture and storage of biogenic or atmospheric CO2.
“As one of the EU’s largest contributors to industrial CO2 emissions, France will need CCUS to achieve its climate targets while preserving its manufacturing base” said Toby Lockwood, Technology and Markets Director for Carbon Capture at CATF. “This strategy is a much-needed first step towards accelerating and coordinating CCUS deployment at the national level.”
Key components of the French strategy include:
- An initial ambition to capture 4 to 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030, expected to increase to 30 to 50 million tonnes by 2050.
- A phased deployment timeline, starting with the creation of CCUS hubs in up to four major industrial clusters by 2030.
- Implementation of financial support to industrial CCUS projects through carbon contracts for difference (CCfDs) with a 15-year duration.
- Development of a new regulatory framework for CO2 transport, ensuring principles of non-discriminatory and transparent access to network users.
- Enabling export of CO2 to storage sites in the North Sea and Mediterranean in the near term, accompanied by a plan to develop France’s own geologic storage resource.
“A growing number of countries are finding that CCS is essential to achieve net-zero. These national carbon management strategies lay the foundation for each country to decarbonise their hard-to-abate industries and unlock permanent carbon removals. Some countries are not yet taking carbon management seriously which endangers their climate goals.” said Codie Rossi, Senior Policy Associate, Carbon Capture at CATF.
The release of the strategy positions France alongside other EU nations progressing in their carbon management initiatives.
On 27 June, Austria’s Federal government approved its national carbon management strategy, paving the way for the expansion of carbon management technologies. The strategy identifies residual emissions that must be tackled through carbon management.
Key components of the Austrian strategy include:
- Recommendation to lift the prohibition on geological CO2 storage in Austria and create the necessary legal framework.
- Evaluating and adjusting the legal situation regarding pipeline-bound CO2 transport.
- Setting legal frameworks for minimum capture, transport, and storage targets for CO2.
- Promoting and incentivising research and development activities for CCUS and CDR.
- Creation of the legal, financial, and organisational framework to promote and incentivise feasibility studies as well as pilot and demonstration projects.
The strategy will be implemented in two phases: the first evaluates the current status and specifies required actions, while the second concentrates on executing these measures. A feasibility study on a potential CO2 transport network is expected in Q3 of 2024. Earlier this year, Germany also moved forward with outlining their national carbon management strategy, as well as allowed the storage of carbon dioxide.
CATF has shared expertise and contributed to multiple consultations on EU and Member State level. For more information on our work, see:
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Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is a global nonprofit organization working to safeguard against the worst impacts of climate change by catalysing the rapid development and deployment of low-carbon energy and other climate-protecting technologies. With more than 25 years of internationally recognized expertise on climate policy and a fierce commitment to exploring all potential solutions, CATF is a pragmatic, non-ideological advocacy group with the bold ideas needed to address climate change. Visit cleanairtaskforce.org and follow @cleanaircatf
