Prime Ministers Jonas Gahr Store and Magdalena Anderson met for talks in Stockholm today. The Prime Ministers agreed to establish an agreement between Norway and Sweden on the export/import of carbon dioxide as soon as possible to enable Norwegian and Swedish companies to cooperate in the permanent storage of carbon dioxide on the Norwegian continental shelf.
– I am glad that we stand together to further develop the close cooperation between Norway and Sweden. As part of this, we agree to enhance cooperation on energy and climate issues to succeed with the green transition, and carbon capture, transport and storage is an essential part of this, says Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
Agreement between countries is a necessary condition under the London Protocol to be able to transport CO2 across national borders. When carbon capture and storage technology is used in plants with bio-emissions, it is called bio-CCS and this gives negative emissions to the atmosphere.
The countries have a solid foundation to build on through the Scandinavian Energy and Climate Cooperation as well as the European Economic Area Agreement. Both Norway and Sweden want to be drivers of national climate goals, move to CO2 neutrality in the Nordic region and contribute to the world as a whole achieving the goals set out in the Paris Agreement.
Sweden aims to have net zero greenhouse gas emissions and then negative emissions by 2045 at the latest. Bio-CCS will be required to achieve the goals. Sequestration of CO2 from fossil sources will also play a role in industries where emissions cannot be reduced in any other way, says Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.
Norway and Sweden want to intensify cooperation in technology development, energy infrastructure and green transformation in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from countries in the North Sea region.
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Norway and Sweden are pursuing ambitious climate and energy policies based on the Paris Agreement. Significant emissions cuts will be needed to achieve climate goals. Beyond that, CCS is likely to be a necessary addition to other emissions reduction efforts. Either as a measure where there are no affordable alternatives to the use of fossil fuels or as a complementary measure with bio-based CCS technology.
Norway and Sweden work closely together on energy and climate, notably through the Nordic Energy and Climate Cooperation and the European Economic Area Agreement. As the first country in the world, Norway and Sweden had a cross-border certification market to spur renewable energy development. The Norwegian and Swedish electricity markets are closely linked through a number of international connections. Norway and Sweden are parties to the OSPAR Convention and the London Protocol (LP) under the International Maritime Organization and both countries have ratified the necessary changes to the LP for the transport of carbon dioxide.2 From Sweden to marine storage in Norway.
There is growing interest in Sweden’s CCS program, both from industry and from the authorities. The Swedish government has commissioned the Swedish Energy Agency to be a national center (link to the Swedish Energy Agency) for carbon dioxide capture and storage.2. Sweden will also provide operational support to CCS Vital through reverse auctions. The ambition is for the first auction to take place at the end of 2022 with the first stockpiling in 2026.
Several players in Sweden have the ability to use CCS and LOIs between Norwegian Northen Lights and several Swedish companies have been introduced. In Sweden, players have the opportunity to apply for government investment support through Industriklivet (link) and a Swedish company with bio-CCS has received support through the European Union Innovation Fund.
In 2021, the Norwegian Parliament approved a large-scale demonstration project for CO2Handling, Langskip – CO2 capture and storage CO2 processing – regjeringen.no The Norwegian government will cover two-thirds of the total costs in the first phase of the Northern Lightsccs.com project, part of Langskip’s infrastructure, with status as a project of European Common Interest (PCI). The project received a promise of support through the European Union Connection Facility (CEF).
The aurora borealis has a storage capacity of about 5 million tons of carbon dioxide per year in the second phase. Norway has a large geological potential for storing carbon dioxide2 further than this.