Mapping the money behind carbon capture: Public subsidies and industry ties
Despite decades of investment, CCS has repeatedly failed to cut emissions, yet the Commission continues channelling billions to a technology that prolongs polluting industries like oil, gas, plastics, and chemicals. Data compiled by Oil Change International (OCI)a shows the EU, its member states, and Norway have committed nearly €17.3 billion in public money since 2001 to CCS projects and fossil- based hydrogen projects that plan to utilize CCS.
On December 8 and 9 in Athens, the European Commission will host its Industrial Carbon Management (ICM) Forum—an annual event dominated by fossil fuel lobbyists pushing to expand Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).
Despite decades of investment, CCS has repeatedly failed to cut emissions, yet the Commission continues channelling billions to a technology that prolongs polluting industries like oil, gas, plastics, and chemicals. This is a significant financial return on the fossil fuel industry’s lobby spending.
Data compiled by Oil Change International (OCI)a shows the EU, its member states, and Norway have committed nearly €17.3 billion in public money since 2001 to CCS projects and fossil- based hydrogen projects that plan to utilize CCS.
The EU’s subsidies for CCS have soared in the past two years. After committing around €3 billion between 2001 and 2023, this figure has more than doubled to over €6.2 billion by late 2025. Member states, including Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden, have added €6.1 billion. Norway – central to Europe’s CCS plans and Industrial Carbon Management Strategy (ICMS), despite being outside the EU – has spent €5 billion on CCS.
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