Welcome to the fifth case of this course! To reach the climate targets of reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions with 49% in 2030, set by the Dutch government in line with the Paris Agreement of 2015, the Dutch industry sector needs to cut its carbon emissions. Many of these companies are situated in or near the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port. The Port of Rotterdam is therefore a very important actor in cutting the emission of greenhouse gases of all those companies.

One of the solutions to this challenge on the short term, the Port of Rotterdam has chosen to implement is Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS). Multiple utilizations of the concept are going to be implemented in the area, but it all starts with the capture of CO2. Afterwards, a central pipeline system transports the captured carbon to two different destinations: the greenhouses in the “Westland” area, where the CO2 is used to speed up plants’ growth, as well as an empty gas field beneath the North Sea, where the CO2 is stored.

In this case, you will explore the challenges that arise with these solutions, through a second clip of Nico van Dooren on the efforts of the Port of Rotterdam to reduce the total emissions in the port, as well as in the Netherlands. However, is CCUS an acceptable solution? Who is responsible for the usage & storage? How sustainable is it? What about liability in the process of capturing, using and storing? These, and other questions will be addressed in this case: in the clip with Nico van Dooren, as well as several readings.