Governments aim to unleash cross-border CO₂ trade

Growth of carbon removal and capture sectors creates need for functioning international market linking emitters and storage providers

Governments are stepping up efforts to enable cross-border trade in CO₂ amid growing recognition that international carbon capture, removal and storage projects will play a key role in attempts to reach net zero. Large-scale storage projects in particular will need to take CO₂ from multiple emitters across international boundaries to become viable. Climate, energy and environment ministers from the G7 pledged in mid-April to work together to promote the “development of export/import mechanisms for CO₂” as part of an evolving carbon management strategy based around CCS and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies, including direct air capture (Daccs) and bioenergy with CCS (Beccs). “Au