Elsevier

Marine Policy

Volume 48, September 2014, Pages 162-171
Marine Policy

Planning for offshore CO2 storage: Law and policy in the United Kingdom

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2014.03.029Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
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Highlights

  • Review of UK law and policy concerning planning for offshore CO2 storage.

  • Surveyed law and policy is complex and sectorally/institutionally fragmented.

  • Coherence of planning/regulation is maintained by diverse coordination measures.

  • At present, limited designation of spatial opportunity for offshore CO2 storage.

Abstract

‘Offshore CO2 storage’ refers to the injection of liquefied CO2 into deep geological formations beneath the seabed (e.g. depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and saline aquifers) for the purpose of storing it there on a permanent basis. The storage in this manner of captured CO2 emissions from industrial installations and power plants has attracted considerable scientific and technical interest as a potential mitigation response to climate change. A key issue facing policymakers in several countries is how to reconcile policy commitments to develop offshore CO2 storage with other competing – and potentially conflicting – uses of the marine environment. With a view to informing policy responses to this issue, this paper presents a case study of legal and policy frameworks concerning offshore CO2 storage in United Kingdom. The paper maps key design features of the United Kingdom׳s framework for marine permitting and planning, appraising the extent to which they enable orderly development of offshore CO2 storage in a manner consistent with relevant high-level policy objectives.

Keywords

Carbon dioxide storage
Carbon capture and storage
Marine planning
Cross-sectoral regulation
United Kingdom

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