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Terminology
CCS refers to: Carbon Capture and Storage. CSS is a climate change mitigation technology that captures CO2 from the atmosphere, transports it to a storage location and securely stores it underground to prevent its release into the atmosphere.. . Over the years, numerous technologies have been developed to address the pressing challenge of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and combating climate change. Among these innovations, carbon capture and storage (CCS) stands out as a key solution in the arsenal against CO2 emissions.

The Danish CCS strategy
The European Commission has set out a unified direction for the capture, utilization, and storage of CO2 in the EU through its new Carbon Capture and Storage strategy (CSS). This strategy underscores Denmark's pioneering role in the field. With the rollout of a Danish CCS strategy, Denmark is positioning itself to lead as a CCS frontrunner nation and serve as a CO2 hub for Europe. This way of cleaning CO2 from the atmosphere has become Danmark’s main strategy to reach climate targets both domestically with the 70% reduction by 2030 and internationally with the EU targets and the Paris Agreement .In March 2023, the first CO2 was captured from the atmosphere, transported to depleted oil fields in the North Sea and stored there to stay deep underground forever. This marked the start of a new significant project for Danmark, as the North sea has become the arena of which the Danish government has defined a large scale CCS plan.

With a storage potential of 22 billion tons of CO2 in the North Sea, Denmark, as a coastal state, is leveraging its territorial waters in its pursuit to become a leading nation in CCS technology. However, the storage potential for CO2 in the Danish territory of the North Sea is much greater than what Denmark alone can capture and store. Therefore, the Danish strategy is to activate this internationally, enabling Denmark to support EU objectives and thus become a CO2 hub for the whole of Europe by transporting CO2 to Denmark and storing it underground .This strategy involves multiple stakeholders; both governmental and private entities are engaged domestically and internationally. As the carbon is being stored in depleted oil fields, the Danish government collaborates closely with oil and gas companies and their affiliated business associations to establish the offshore infrastructure required for capturing, transporting and storing the substantial amount of CO2 from the entire of Europe .Being a coastal state, there are, however, potential security threats related to this major CCS project as Denmark can be affected by leakages of CO2 and the unknown magnitude of the damage this can do to the marine environment of our territories

CCS - a Matter of Maritime Security
Carbon Capture and Storage of CO2 in the North Sea is a matter of maritime security. Emerging maritime responsibilities have surfaced with the expansion of green offshore energy infrastructures, such as wind farms, energy islands, electricity interconnectors, and hydrogen pipelines. While these developments are crucial political priorities in mitigating climate change, they also introduce new vulnerabilities in the maritime domain and CCS stands out as a central example of this evolving maritime security imperative. The Danish CCS strategy may not resemble traditional maritime security measures, which typically involves collaborations to protect territorial waters, trade routes, and other tangible maritime interests .But the Danish CCS strategy represents an equally critical security measure as it addresses the immediate threat of CO2 emissions to ecosystem collapse. It is however also important to note, that CCS in itself, poses a threat as leakages in the North Sea could pose significant risks to Denmark as a coastal state. Therefore, while the Danish CCS strategy may not align with conventional maritime security paradigms, its role in safeguarding against environmental risks underscores its importance in ensuring maritime security in a broader sense and exemplifies the complexity of the new and evolving maritime security imperative

The Security Issues Related to CCS in the North Sea
There is a high risk of leaks from underground cavities designated for CO2 storage, underscoring that when carbon is not in solid form, there's an inherent risk of it escaping underground. Through a series of model calculations assessing various scenarios of CO2 storage, it has been concluded that a release of stored greenhouse gas over the long term could result in significant atmospheric warming. Furthermore, leaks could lead to substantial increases in sea levels, oxygen depletion, acidification, and elevated CO2 concentrations in the oceans .Other studies find that CCS plants might not be an efficient way to reduce CO2 emissions, arguing that there are other alternatives that cost less and fit better into the realization of long-term goals for the environment, energy security, and green growth .Complementary studies argue that while the climate crisis is escalating, untested ideas for technological interventions are gaining traction in the political debate .And while some scholars argue that all measures of climate action should be applauded, some of the new technologies like CCS may be downright dangerous for the Danish government's strategy to lead the way in a global green transition. In summary, many academic articles find that storing compressed carbon underground poses risks of abrupt or gradual leaks, potentially causing catastrophic environmental effects. Leaving a question on whether this CCS strategy is really sustainable, considering that the Danish government lays all its eggs in a potentially leeky basket.