5 February 2010 - The European Union (EU) has agreed to use allowances from the region’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) worth €6bn ($8.2bn) to support carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration and renewable energy projects.
Some 300m allowances for the 2013-2020 period allocated to the European Investment Bank (EIB), which at a carbon price of €20 a tonne, are likely to raise a total of €6nn when sold. The money raised will then be reallocated into CCS and renewable energy projects, with each member state allowed to host a maximum of two projects.
The main focus of the investment is likely to be CCS, with hopes for 12 large-scale demonstration projects to be up and running by 2015. Under the EU agreement, the Commission and the EIB will have a final say as to which projects receive funding to ensure the full range of capture and storage technologies is tested across Europe.
The EIB will also oversee the sale of the permits, which will ultimately determine how much money is available. Although it is not compulsory, member states are expected to contribute to the test projects, potentially resulting in billions of additional euros.
