Sub-Seabed Carbon Sequestration: Building the Legal Platform

Under the threat of the disruptions of climate change, there is growing interest in clean coal technology in the UK. This paper reviews the technologies underpinning the capture, transportation and storage of CO₂. In the case of the UK, the storage of CO₂ is planned in the sub seabed of the North Sea Continental Shelf. This being so, the paper goes on to analyse the rapid changes made at International, EU and UK level to shape a legal framework, the contours of which, if not the precise topography, is now visibly recognisable. It explores the linkages between regimes on climate change and marine protection and it concludes that the viability of the technology may ultimately be dependent on one element of that regulatory structure, namely the EU Emissions Trading Scheme since, ultimately, the price of carbon will determine levels of investment in the technology.