The European Commission is expected to table a legislative proposal in the third quarter of 2026 to govern the transport of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and the cross-border market needed to move captured carbon to storage or utilisation sites. This briefing sets out the issues at stake. All Commission scenarios for 2050 climate neutrality converge on capturing close to 450 million tonnes of CO₂ a year, yet no cross-border market exists at that scale and the business case for capture remains weak under current carbon prices. As co-legislators, Members will face choices over public funding versus market-led deployment, the balance between permanent geological storage and CO₂ utilisation, and how far to align CO₂ networks with existing energy infrastructure planning.
