Coordinated Government action on CCS funding and deployment could slash industrial decarbonisation costs in Central and Eastern Europe
A new policy brief from Clean Air Task Force (CATF) provides a roadmap for governments in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to accelerate regional carbon capture and storage (CCS) deployment to decarbonise heavy industry, maintain competitiveness, and secure long-term economic resilience.
It provides a clear, actionable path for national governments to coordinate CCS deployment, reduce costs, and access available EU support
“Carbon capture and storage is essential for CEE countries to meet their climate goals while preserving industrial value chains and jobs,” said Tamara Lagurashvili, Director for Central and Eastern Europe at CATF. “In a region with comparatively less budgetary room than governments in Western Europe, how funding mechanisms are designed and how CCS is deployed will have profound effects on the overall costs incurred to make deployment a reality.”
The brief, ‘Funding Carbon Capture and Storage in Central and Eastern Europe: Strategies for Cost-Effective Deployment’, shows that developing regional CO₂ storage could reduce transport and storage costs by up to 48%. This could result in millions of tonnes of domestic storage and government savings from avoided subsidies, for example, a project capturing 500,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year could require as much as €23.5 million extra annually in subsidies if storage is not developed locally. To build a strong business case for regional CCS infrastructure, the paper recommends that governments take on a proactive coordinating role—ensuring full-chain projects can move to construction and leverage EU and national funding tools.
The paper arrives at a critical moment, as CEE governments face mounting pressure to align with EU climate targets while navigating complex geopolitical and economic challenges. It offers a practical framework to help national policymakers, regulators, and developers build low-cost, high-impact CCS projects that reduce emissions and future-proof regional industry.
Key recommendations include:
- Coordinating full CCS value chains: Ministries and regulatory bodies should play a convening role to align infrastructure planning across capture, transport, and storage—ensuring projects progress from concept to construction without delay.
- Blending EU and national financial support: Project developers should be supported through a mix of EU-level funds (such as the Innovation Fund) and national de-risking tools like carbon contracts for difference, which provide revenue certainty and close the cost gap.
- Targeting early-stage project support: Governments should offer grants and policy clarity to help projects advance through permitting and investment decision-making, building momentum and investor confidence for wider deployment.
“Some of Europe’s most advanced CCS projects are moving forward because governments stepped up to coordinate and de-risk them,” said Codie Rossi, Europe Policy Manager for Carbon Capture at CATF. “With the right policies and financial frameworks in place, CEE countries can do the same, delivering millions of tonnes of emissions reductions while creating and safeguarding jobs and saving millions of euros in avoided carbon prices.”
Read the full policy brief here for detailed guidance on how governments and developers can deliver CCS at scale in Central and Eastern Europe.
Press Contact
Steve Reyes, Communication Manager, [email protected], +1 562-916-6463
About Clean Air Task Force
Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is a global nonprofit organisation 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. CATF has offices in Boston, Washington D.C., and Brussels, with staff working virtually around the world. Visit catf.us and follow @cleanaircatf.
