The Council of State gives permission to store CO2 emissions from the Rotterdam port area under the North Sea. That is good news.
The storage of CO2 emissions by companies in the Rotterdam port area in an empty gas field under the North Sea may continue. The Council of State has dismissed the objections of environmental group Mobilization for the Environment (MOB).
That is good news for the outgoing cabinet. This aims to emit at least 55 percent less CO2 in 2030 than in 1990. The Rijnmond area is one of the largest CO2 emitters in Europe. The so-called Porthos project ensures that 2.5 megatons of CO2 disappear under seawater every year. In total, the government has calculated, 1600 megatons of CO2 could be stored in the empty gas fields under the North Sea.
Coming decades
For the fossil industry, this is a way to quickly reduce emissions. Moreover, after 2030, not all industrial production processes using fossil fuels will have been replaced by a CO2-free alternative. Subsea storage could be a solution for this in the coming decades.
That makes it a strange thing, of course, that a club such as the MOB of environmental activist Johan Vollenbroek lodged an objection. According to the environmental group, too much nitrogen would be released into the vulnerable nature around the port area during the construction of the pipeline. That would be 160 tons of nitrogen. Compared to the 200,000 tons of CO2 emissions that go into the air each month until they are discharged to an empty gas field, that is negligible. The MOB took a big risk by submitting the decision to the highest court.
Much grumpy
MOB also has a lot of chagrin about the fact that the government has set aside 2 billion euros to compensate large emitters for the extra costs they have to incur. “Why do we have to pay to clean up the waste from companies like Shell?” But MOB is not about that. Achieving the climate goals requires sacrifices from many parties. In that sense, it remains important that the government keeps the pressure on the Shells of this world to also make sacrifices to become more sustainable. And there is still something to be gained.