Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2009)236 - Approval of the Amendments of Annex II and Annex III to the Convention for the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention) in relation to the storage of carbon dioxide streams in geological formations - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2009)236 - Approval of the Amendments of Annex II and Annex III to the Convention for the protection of the marine environment of the ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2009)236  |
| date | 25-05-2009 |
2. The aim of the Convention is to prevent and eliminate pollution and to protect the maritime area against the harmful effects of human activities. The Convention entered into force on 25 March 1998.
3. The executive body of the OSPAR Convention (the OSPAR Commission) may adopt amendments to the Convention and to its Annexes and Appendices. It has adopted by consensus of the Contracting Parties amendments of Annexes II and III to the Convention at its meeting in June 2007 in Ostend (Belgium) in relation to the storage of carbon dioxide streams in subsoil geological formations, with a view to legally enabling Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) operations in the OSPAR maritime area.
4. The Commission Communication on Sustainable Power Generation from Fossil Fuels (COM (2006) 843) identified the need for a regulatory framework on CCS and supported the adoption of amendments to the OSPAR Convention to permit environmentally sound geological storage of CO2 under the seabed.
5. The European Council, at its March 2007 meeting concluded the following on Carbon Capture and Storage in the context of its Action Plan (2007-2009) Energy Policy for Europe (EPE):
"Aware of the huge possible global benefits of a sustainable use of fossil fuels, the European Council:
- underlines the importance of substantial improvements in generation efficiency and clean fossil fuel technologies;
- urges Member States and the Commission to work towards strengthening R & D and developing the necessary technical, economic and regulatory framework to bring environmentally safe carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) to deployment with new fossil-fuel power plants, if possible by 2020;
- welcomes the Commission's intention to establish a mechanism to stimulate the construction and operation by 2015 of up to 12 demonstration plants of sustainable fossil fuel technologies in commercial power generation."
6. Through Community coordination in the context of the OSPAR negotiations, there was substantial improvement of the draft OSPAR Decisions on CCS accompanying the amendments to the Annexes, in terms of more explicit requirements for risk management and public participation. The Community delegation at the OSPAR Commission meeting that adopted these instruments stated that, with respect to matters relating to EC competence, it was pleased to be able to be part of the consensus accepting the package and that it would provide a good basis for the development of European legislation following the conclusions of the European Council on CCS. However, the EC also stated that they may have to notify OSPAR that they will have to suspend the 200-day entry into force [of the OSPAR Decisions 2007/1 and 2007/2] if unable to comply with the timeframe. Such a letter of suspension should not be considered as negative as they will wish to ratify when appropriate.
7. It is the intention of the European Commission that all the elements of the CCS regulatory framework should be in place to allow CCS to proceed in the best possible circumstances in line with the European Council conclusions. The European Commission has proposed a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the geological storage of carbon dioxide, which will establish a permitting regime covering inter alia composition of the CO2 stream, site selection, monitoring and reporting, site closure, corrective measures in case of leakage, financial security and the conditions for transfer of responsibility to the state, so as to ensure that the necessary requirements are in place for safe and secure CO2 storage.
It is therefore appropriate for the Community to approve the Amendments to the OSPAR Convention Annexes II and III as set out below.