The Nordic CCS Programme

The Nordic Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Programme is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Environment and Climate Sector and the Energy Sector. The Nordic countries share a common vision for the Nordic Region to be the world’s most sustainable and integrated region by 2030. Achieving this will require a strong level of political cooperation.

CCS will play a crucial role in reaching national and European climate targets in 2030-2050 and lays the foundation for current and future Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) efforts needed to substitute products which today are based on fossil sources.

The purpose of the Nordic CCS programme is to support the implementation of CCS in the Nordic countries, maintain and strengthen the region’s leading role in the deployment of CCS, and provide policy-relevant analysis to guide national and European CCS development. The programme will offer an analytical foundation to further develop the Nordic region as a strong European hub for CCS, benefiting both national and European climate targets.

About the programme

Why a Nordic program

Currently, the Nordic countries are at the forefront of European CCS development, as demonstrated by several national initiatives, including CO₂ exploration and storage licenses and national CCS subsidy schemes. However, the large-scale deployment of CCS technologies requires coordinated efforts, shared knowledge, and robust infrastructure. The Nordic CCS Programme supports the implementation of CCS in the region and develops collective Nordic knowledge and competencies related to CCS to inform policy and market developments.

The Nordic role in the EU

In its communication on sustainable carbon cycles, the EU Commission anticipates industrial carbon removals through bio-CCS of 5 Mt CO2 per year by 2030. The Net Zero Industry Act has set a target of establishing 50 Mt CO2 per year injection capacity in the EU by 2030. Furthermore, in its recent communication on an EU climate target for 2040, the Commission anticipates a need for CCS resulting in reductions of approximately 250 Mt CO2 per year.

Given the current state and timelines, these ambitions are high. CCS will be essential and places the Nordic countries in a pivotal role in successfully achieving both national and European climate targets from 2030 to 2050.

The Nordic countries are therefore actively working to lead the green transition and demonstrate international leadership particularly regarding CCS. With the Nordic CCS Programme the work contributes to an even closer collaboration and work to realize the vision of the Nordic Region as the most integrated and sustainable region in the world.

How we work

The steering committee consisting of representatives from Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden will support the overall objective of the programme, which will be managed by a programme coordinator affiliated with the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities.

With the involvement of industry and stakeholders through workshops, the programme will gather the necessary knowledge in areas where deeper insight is required. The purpose is to create subprojects that will conduct technical, legal, market, and other types of analyses.

These subprojects and analytical frameworks will then be used to inform policy papers, declarations, non-papers, and similar outputs. The main focus is to contribute to the development of effective policy and legislation in the Nordic region to support the establishment of a CCS market.

About the Nordic Council of Ministers

At the Nordic Council of Ministers’ webpage, you will find descriptions of the programme alongside other programmes, and you will be able to explore the Nordic Council of Ministers’ priorities and objectives in greater detail.

Results and events

Cross Border Transport June 2025
The Nordic CCS programme held a workshop on cross border transport of CO2 in June 2025 in order to gather qualified input.
Notes from workshop on cross border CO2-transport on June 16 2025

Kick Off January 2026
The Nordic CCS Programme held a major kick-off event aimed at gathering input from a broad range of stakeholders on the essential content and main topics for upcoming analyses and assessments.
Summary of inputs from kick off in the Nordic CCS program 20 January 2026

Next step:
The programme will consist of several project rounds. As an initial step, we will focus on launching three projects within 1) public perception, 2) legal frameworks across the Nordic region, and 3) CO₂ infrastructure and transport.
Further information and opportunities for involvement will be shared as the projects progress.