Norway has officially launched its first batch of carbon dioxide (CO₂) injections into a reservoir under the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project.

The collaborative project, inaugurated in September 2024, is designed to capture carbon emissions from factories and industries, liquefy the CO₂, and transport it to a dedicated storage site. Once compressed, the CO₂ will travel through a 110-kilometer pipeline to a reservoir located 2,600 meters beneath the North Sea seabed.

By providing a permanent geological storage solution, Northern Lights marks a major step in Europe’s efforts to curb industrial emissions. It is also the world’s first open-source CO₂ transport and storage network, aiming to serve both Norwegian and international emitters in the coming years.

The venture, while costly, has become a feasible solution to limit emissions, with a storage capacity of 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ annually — just 0.1 percent of the global total emissions, which amounts to 50.5 million tonnes.

Most of the funding will come from the Norwegian government, which is financing 80 percent of the project as part of a 30-billion-kroner ($2.9 billion) initiative known as “Longship.”

Feasible solution or fueling the fire?

While the CCS project is touted as a breakthrough in addressing climate change, critics argue it merely enables oil companies to continue polluting instead of cutting emissions. Frode Pleym, head of Greenpeace Norway, described it as “greenwashing,” pointing out the irony of an oil company–led initiative being framed as climate action.

The debate intensifies as Europe continues to grapple with worsening climate-related disasters. Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern Europe have faced large-scale wildfires and heatwaves this year. According to the European Union, fires have already destroyed 967,026 hectares between February and mid-August.

Experts warn that such disasters reflect the continuing global struggle against climate change.