Europe

Felix Schenuit from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) just published a policy paper through LibMod that makes a provocative argument: CDR is politically fragile, and the way to protect it is to stop treating it as a carbon accounting exercise and start treating it as industrial policy. The Core Problem The paper’s central concern is “climate backsliding” — the strategic weakening and rollback of climate policy that’s happening in multiple countries. When net-zero commitments erode, CDR loses its political rationale. After all, if you’re no longer committed to neutralizing residual emissions, why fund the technology to do it? ...

Carbon Gap and Global Factor just published a Carbon Removal Readiness Assessment (CRRA) for Spain, and the verdict is clear: massive potential, minimal policy infrastructure. Spain has geology, solar irradiation, coastal access, and industrial clusters that make it a natural fit for multiple CDR pathways. What it doesn’t have is a national CDR strategy. What Spain Brings to the Table The CRRA identifies several advantages Spain has for scaling carbon removal: ...

Europe’s flagship climate policy instrument is suddenly in the crosshairs — from inside Europe. Italy’s industry minister has called for a temporary suspension of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), arguing that carbon costs are inflating electricity prices and hurting industrial competitiveness. At a meeting of “Friends of Industry” countries in Brussels, the push was framed as a practical necessity while the system gets reformed. The European Commission pushed back hard. Commissioners stated the EU is “not in an energy crisis as severe as 2022” and rejected talk of suspending the ETS or releasing emergency oil stocks. The current situation, they argue, doesn’t warrant dismantling the cornerstone of EU climate policy. ...