Electricity and CO2: European cooperation is being held back by mental borders

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On July 17, the European Commission will present its proposals for the revision of the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). Under pressure from energy- and CO₂-intensive industries, a weakening of the originally planned price increase is emerging. The concern: those who cannot reduce their emissions cost-effectively will lose ground internationally. Yet the costs of decarbonization could be reduced substantially if Europe used its two central levers jointly: the electrification of industrial processes based on affordable renewable electricity, and the capture and storage of CO₂ (CCS). Both work best and most cost-effectively as joint European projects: electricity flows to where it is needed, CO₂ to where it can be stored safely. However, a recent Kiel Policy Brief shows that the decisive hurdle lies neither in technology nor in financing, but in the minds of citizens. As soon as infrastructure projects cross national borders, public support drops markedly.

The analysis is based on a representative survey of almost 10,000 respondents in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom. It examines how public support for electricity grid and CO₂ storage projects changes depending on whether they are organized nationally or across borders.

The findings reveal a clear pattern. In all five countries, nationally organized infrastructure projects receive substantially higher levels of public support than projects involving the cross-border transport of electricity or CO₂. Respondents are particularly skeptical of electricity exports to other countries and, in the case of CCS, of importing and permanently storing CO₂ from abroad. The direction of this decline in public support appears to reflect how each resource is perceived: electricity is viewed as a valuable national asset, whereas CO₂ is seen as an unwanted waste product.

Source: Wikipedia