Demonstrating carbon capture and storage and innovative renewables at commercial scale in the EU: intended progress not achieved in the past decade

Summary: 

To help achieve its 2020 and longer term climate and energy objectives, the EU launched two large funding programmes in 2009 to support carbon capture and storage (CCS) and innovative renewables: the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR) and the NER300 programme. While the EU is likely to meet its 2020 targets, we found that neither of the programmes succeeded with the deployment of CCS in the EU. The EEPR contributed positively to the development of the offshore wind sector, but the NER300 programme did not achieve the progress intended in supporting the demonstration of a wider range of innovative renewable energy technologies.

The EU is now preparing to launch the Innovation Fund to replace NER300 from 2021 and is designing the new multi-annual financial framework (2021-2027). An acceleration of the transition to a low-carbon economy is necessary to meet its climate and energy objectives for 2030 and the longer term. In this context, we make recommendations to the European Commission to address the weaknesses identified during our audit and strengthen the design of future programmes.

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Official

ECA: News, 23.10.18: Climate action: EU failing with commercial deployment of carbon capture and innovative renewables https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/NewsItem.aspx?nid=10836

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