Addressing regulatory challenges for offshore geological carbon storage in the UK: a policy brief

Report

This brief focuses on the U.K. policy and regulatory framework and reforms available to the UK as it looks to scale-up the CCS industry effectively and begin safe geological CO2 storage (GCS) on the UK offshore continental shelf (UKCS). The brief covers the current state of offshore CCS regulation and discusses opportunities available to streamline legislation, regulation and policy surrounding access to CO2 storage on the UKCS, based on insights from diverse stakeholders regarding this regulation. We discuss the consequences of these findings for policy, industrial scale-up of geological storage, and the future direction of UK CCS policy and legislation. The UK has a developed regulatory environment for offshore GCS, but regulatory challenges remain. This is the central gap that this brief aims to address.

Authors: Sutton, M; Muslemani, H; Köppen, M; Smith, SM; Allen, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Reviewed (other)
• Publisher: AGILE Research Initiative, University of Oxford
• Place of publication: Oxford
• Publication date: 2024-07-30
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-2r2onvvpk
• Commissioning body: AGILE Initiative; Smith School
• Language: English
• Keywords: legislation; offshore geological carbon dioxide storage; carbon capture and storage (CCS); regulation; UKk continental shelf (UKCS); SBTMR; policy brief