L 140/114 Official Journal of the European Union 5.6.2009 DIRECTIVE 2009/31/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 23 April 2009 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide and amending Council Directive 85/337/EEC, European Parliament and Council Directives 2000/60/EC, 2001/80/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2006/12/EC, 2008/1/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EURO- PEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular Article 175(1) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), After consulting the Committee of the Regions, Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (?), Whereas: (1) The ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was approved by Council Decision 94/69/EC of 15 December 1993 (%), is to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. (2)  The Sixth Community Environment Action Programme established by Decision No 1600/2002/EC of the Euro- pean Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2002 () identifies climate change as a priority for action. That pro- gramme recognises that the Community is committed to achieving an 8 % reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases by 2008 to 2012 compared to 1990 levels, and that, in the longer term, global emissions of greenhouse gases will need to be reduced by approximately 70 % compared to 1990 levels. (3)  The Commission Communication of 10 January 2007 entitled ‘Limiting global climate change to two degrees Cel- sius — The way ahead for 2020 and beyond’ clarifies that (1) OJ C 27, 3.2.2009, p. 75. (%) Opinion of the European Parliament of 17 December 2008 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 6 April 2009. () OJL 33,7.2.1994, p. 11. (% OJ L 242, 10.9.2002, p. 1. in the context of the envisaged global reduction of green- house gas emissions of 50 % by 2050, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 30 % in the developed world by 2020 is required, rising to 60 %-80 % by 2050, that this reduction is technically feasible and the benefits far out- weigh the costs, but that, to achieve it, all mitigation options must be harnessed. Carbon dioxide capture and geological storage (CCS) is a bridging technology that will contribute to mitigating cli- mate change. It consists of the capture of carbon dioxide (CO,) from industrial installations, its transport to a stor- age site and its injection into a suitable underground geo- logical formation for the purposes of permanent storage. This technology should not serve as an incentive to increase the share of fossil fuel power plants. Its develop- ment should not lead to a reduction of efforts to support energy saving policies, renewable energies and other safe and sustainable low carbon technologies, both in research and financial terms. Preliminary estimates, carried out with a view to assessing the impact of the Directive and referred to in the impact assessment of the Commission, indicate that seven million tonnes of CO, could be stored by 2020, and up to 160 mil- lion tonnes by 2030, assuming a 20 % reduction in green- house gas emissions by 2020 and provided that CCS obtains private, national and Community support and proves to be an environmentally safe technology. The CO, emissions avoided in 2030 could account for some 15 % of the reductions required in the Union. The Second European Climate Change Programme, which was established by the Commission Communication of 9 February 2005 entitled ‘Winning the Battle Against Glo- bal Climate Change’ to prepare and examine future climate policy in the Community, set up a Working Group on Car- bon Capture and Geological Storage. The Working Group’s mandate was to explore CCS as a means of reducing cli- mate change. The Working Group published a detailed report on the topic of regulation, which was adopted in June 2006. It stressed the need for the development of both policy and regulatory frameworks for CCS and urged the Commission to undertake further research into the subject.