Despite a pressing economic dependence on carbon-intensive industries and significant potential for carbon management (CM), multiple Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries face challenges in implementing CM strategies and projects due to limited understanding, governance gaps, and low public awareness.
GreenHorizon CEE: Industrial Carbon Management for a Sustainable Future in CEE is a recently launched project that addresses the need for careful planning of incoming CM projects in the region. The project advocates for a targeted approach that ensures CM technologies are used where they can deliver the greatest climate and socio-economic benefits.
The consortium led by EPG is formed by four national partners, each representing a CEE state, respectively EPG (Romania), Center for the Study of Democracy (Bulgaria), WiseEuropa Institute (Poland), Bellona Europa (Latvia), and one expert partner, Fraunhofer.
CM encompasses a range of technologies, including carbon capture and storage (CCS), carbon capture and utilisation (CCU), and carbon dioxide (CO2) removals. While these methods are crucial for reducing emissions in sectors where alternative solutions are limited, the four project partners warn against their indiscriminate application. The GreenHorizon consortium seeks to address these issues by enhancing institutional capacity and public awareness to ensure that CM solutions are implemented effectively. The project will achieve its objectives through a combination of research, capacity building, and public engagement.
“EPG has initiated this project upon observing the risk of inefficient implementation of CM in Central and Eastern Europe” said Luciana Miu, Head of Clean Economy at the Energy Policy Group. “Through GreenHorizon, we aim to ensure that CM projects are implemented where they will best support a climate-neutral and socially beneficial future, and that the policies governing them are firm in promoting targeted, well-thought-out deployment.”
GreenHorizon (GreenHorizon CEE: Industrial Carbon Management for a Sustainable Future in CEE) is part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).
