By 2050, as much as 450 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year will need to be captured, according to a blueprint drafted by the European Commission. For comparison, global carbon capture and storage capacity – the most advanced method of trapped and using emission – was just 50 million tonnes in 2022, according to BloombergNEF.
“Reaching economy-wide climate neutrality by 2050 will require carbon removals to counter-balance residual emissions from hard-to-abate sectors within the EU at the latest by 2050 and to achieve negative emissions thereafter,” the commission said in the draft industrial carbon management strategy seen by Bloomberg News.
The document is set to be published on Feb 6 along with a roadmap for an intermediate 2040 climate target under the sweeping Green Deal net-zero strategy. It may still be amended before adoption by the commission. The EU’s executive arm has a policy of not commenting on drafts.
