Norway and Switzerland have signed a declaration of intent to strengthen cooperation on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon dioxide removals (CDR) between the two countries.
“There is an increased focus on carbon capture and storage and carbon dioxide removals and promising and rapid development, especially in Europe. This drives the industry forward. We need to facilitate long-term investment to enable the industry to take decisions and turn carbon capture and storage into a sustainable commercial market,” Terje Aasland , Norwegian Minister of Energy, commented.
On May 14, 2024, Aasland held a video conferance with the Swiss Minister of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, Albert Rösti . The meeting resulted in the signing of the declaration .
The Ambassador of Switzerland to Norway, Nathalie Marti , attended the meeting together with the Minister of Energy and signed the declaration on behalf of Switzerland.
Next week, a Norwegian-Swiss CCS stakeholder event will take place in Zurich, gathering stakeholders and industry.
Both Norway and Switzerland have ambitious climate and energy policies to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Over the past few years, the two countries have strengthened their cooperation on CCS and CDR.
For the world, and Europe, to reach the climate targets, many climate measures are needed, including CCS and CDR.
Norway’s support for carbon capture and storage encompasses a wide range of activities, from research and development to full-scale demonstration and international cooperation to promote CCS.
A month ago, Norway and four other European countries — Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden — laid the foundations for Europe’s CCS infrastructure by joining forces to conclude arrangements on the transport and storage of carbon across borders.
As the ability to move CO2 across borders is perceived to be essential in the quest to create Europe-wide access to a portfolio of potential storage sites, the arrangements between the countries pave the way for cross-border transport and geological storage of captured CO2.