On June 17, 2025, a significant event occurred in the voluntary carbon market. During the conference held in Oslo on June 17 and 18, which launched the Longship project, Norway’s leading initiative in carbon capture and storage, Norway and Switzerland signed the first bilateral agreement between countries to strengthen international cooperation in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon removal (CDR). The Longship project, representing the first effective large-scale CCS project in Europe, allows for the permanent storage of captured CO2 beneath the seabed and is poised to become a technological and strategic milestone in the sector.
The agreement signed in Oslo thus creates the legal basis for the safe and regulated transport of CO2 from Switzerland to Norwegian sites and the storage of CO2 according to defined procedures. It also establishes a legal framework for the transfer of mitigation outcomes between the two countries, defines modalities for information exchange on their respective regulatory frameworks, monitoring, and reporting, and aims to foster long-term investments in carbon capture and storage technologies. While Switzerland lacks CO2 capture and storage facilities, Norway boasts over twenty-seven years of experience in this field, with Denmark and Germany currently developing storage sites in the North Sea.
According to a joint statement from the Swiss Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) and the Norwegian Ministry of Energy, over a dozen companies in both countries have already initiated pilot projects in the sector. These projects, though initially symbolic in volume, aim to explore how these technologies can be integrated into national and international climate policy and become increasingly relevant, safe, and efficient. CO2 storage will also be necessary for Switzerland on its path toward its net-zero emissions target and aligns with the broader European strategy for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Carbon Removal (CDR) are similar but not strictly identical methodologies.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) focuses on capturing CO2 from industrial emissions, preventing it from entering the atmosphere, and permanently storing it beneath the seabed or underground. It is defined as a mitigation strategy.
Carbon Removal (CDR), on the other hand, relates more to technologies and practices that actively extract CO2 already present in the atmosphere. It concentrates on reducing existing emissions in the environment and is considered a mitigation strategy, similar to CCS, and also a form of carbon offset. Examples of Carbon Removal include “Nature-Based” projects, which protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural ecosystems while bringing benefits to local communities, and Technology-Based projects, which, through innovative technologies, capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or prevent its emission in the first place.
The signing of the Norway-Switzerland agreement is part of the progress made at COP29 in November 2024 regarding the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This specific part of the Treaty laid the legal groundwork for voluntary carbon markets and defined the requirements for establishing high-integrity carbon markets. The Oslo Agreement, for the first time ever, established genuine collaboration between two countries to promote the use of methodologies and technologies that fall specifically within the scope of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
COP29 negotiators worked diligently to reach a compromise on Article 6, particularly in parts 6.2 and 6.4, which detail how countries will authorize the international exchange of carbon credits and the operation of registries that monitor these exchanges. The new rules adopted at COP29 prevent the double counting of credits; aim to ensure secure and efficient monitoring and reporting; contribute to developing standard rules for allocating credits to emission reduction, mitigation, and removal projects that generate credits for the voluntary market; and generally increase transparency and investor confidence.
The pilot activities of the Norway-Switzerland agreement currently have an insignificant volume and primarily symbolic value. However, the prospects for this collaboration are highly promising from an economic and environmental perspective for Europe as a whole. It has the potential to foster investment, technology development, and the creation of specialized professional roles for managing these methodologies, leading to mutual benefits not only for the two countries but for all of Europe. Crucially, the agreement also addresses the creation of international reduction credits through CCS and CDR projects, which will be integrated into the voluntary carbon market, increasing its credibility, efficiency, and size, a fundamental requirement for complying with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
