The European Commission asked Big Oil to help clean up the carbon mess they helped create by literally putting it back underground.
As reported by Reuters, 44 oil and gas companies will be directly contributing to the EU's carbon storage goals. The Commission asked these companies to help meet a collective target of storing at least 55 million tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2030.
The companies were selected based on their share of oil and natural gas production in the EU between 2020 and 2023.
They are now expected to scale up their participation in carbon capture and storage. CCS is a technology that traps carbon dioxide, which is the main gas driving the changing climate, before it can enter the atmosphere.
It works by capturing pollution from sources like factories or power plants, compressing it, and then storing it deep underground in rock formations where it can't escape. Think of it like putting a lid on pollution before it leaves the smokestack, helping reduce the amount of heat-trapping gases in our air.
While the sector has long been linked to large amounts of pollution, this new directive positions dirty fuel producers as key contributors to solutions rather than just polluters.
"By combining their industrial know-how with faster permitting processes and robust financial support - including from the ETS-resourced Innovation Fund - we can make substantial progress in advancing industrial decarbonisation and modernisation in Europe," said Kurt Vandenberghe, head of the Commission's directorate general for climate action, per Reuters.
This shift makes financial sense, too. By leveraging industrial expertise and combining it with access to fast-tracked permits and EU funding, such as from the Innovation Fund tied to the Emissions Trading System, traditional energy giants can transform themselves into long-term assets in a green economy.
As the clean energy sector continues its upward trajectory, it's clear that investing in a decarbonized future is no longer just a moral decision; it's a market one, too.
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