Speech by Commissioner Jørgensen at the inauguration of the Greensand CCS project

It is a great pleasure to be here today.

I've had the particular pleasure of sitting beside Lady Catherine Ratcliffe.

Over the years, I've met many people with impressive titles.

But I think that “Godmother of Carbon Destroyer 1” is possibly the coolest title I've ever come across!

Congratulations – to you, and to everyone involved in this project.

Over the course of my career, I've been told many times that something is impossible.

Advancing climate action, while maintaining economic growth – impossible.

Combining the clean transition with competitive industries – impossible.

I've been told that the challenges we face are too great – that the odds we face are impossible to overcome.

But, every so often, someone will prove to you what is possible.

Today marks an important milestone for Europe.

Here in Esbjerg, we are launching the first fully operational site for offshore carbon storage in the European Union.

We prove that carbon storage is a practical reality.

We show that we can move from demonstration to deployment.

We set out a path for European industries: to continue their transition to a low-carbon future, while maintaining production, investments, and employment in Europe.

And we open a new front in the fight against climate change.

By taking CO2 and pump it into a depleted oilfield in the Danish North Sea.

In this fight, European leadership has never been more important.

Others have stepped back – so we need to step up.

In the energy sector, things are moving fast.

Every year, we set new records for how much renewable energy we produce.

Last year, we added 89 gigawatts of renewable energy to our energy system.

And for the first time ever, the EU produced more electricity from solar and wind than from fossil fuels.

And we are driving an acceleration in electrification, making it a practical reality for our buildings, our vehicles, and our industries.

Yet, for some of our key industries, electrification is not an immediate solution.