To boost carbon removal efforts in the country, the government of Norway is looking at introducing a subsidy for direct air capture or DAC.
The reverse tax amount considered is 2000 NOK (177 EUR) per metric ton of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere using the novel technology.
If accepted officially, the reverse tax is set to be paid over 10 years along with the sales from the generated carbon credits on the voluntary carbon markets.
The document proposing the reverse tax also mentions the need to support transport and storage infrastructure for the captured CO2, in addition to subsidizing the installation and use of direct air capture itself in Norway.
Norway does indeed have excellent geological formations, as far as the safe and permanent storage of carbon dioxide is concerned, and is already a global leader in carbon capture and storage (CCS) with a number of high-profile projects already underway on its territory.
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Many believe the proposal to be of critical importance due to the already existing incentives in Europe and Norway for point source carbon capture for the fossil fuel industry, but the lack of such for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from ambient air.
CDR is already established to be key to mitigating the climate crisis and limiting global temperature rises.
Furthermore, the document argues that industrial carbon removal is currently among the less expensive options, when compared to other climate solutions, which it says might come to represent huge potential for Norway.
The original document (in Norwegian) can be found here.
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