While the North Sea and Northern Europe have seen the development of over 50 carbon storage projects, South-East Europe has been largely overlooked—with only three projects to date: one each in Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy, said Nikolas Rigas, EnEarth’s Head of Carbon Storage at the 2025 Gaia Circular Symposium, held in Athens on October 2 and 3.
Participating in a panel titled “Energy transition and carbon neutrality” along with EU officials, governmental officials from the Balkans and market players, Nikolas emphasized that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is essential for sustaining Europe’s industrial base. It remains the only scalable solution for decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors by capturing CO₂ emissions and storing them safely underground.
“Take Athens, for example”, Nikolas said: “the city emits approximately 4 million tonnes of CO₂ annually—yet currently lacks any means of managing those emissions. This imbalance revealed a significant opportunity. South-East Europe had been left behind in the carbon storage transition. We founded EnEarth in Athens to bridge that gap”.
EnEarth is proud to be leading the region’s progress. “We’ve launched the Mediterranean’s first advanced CO₂ storage project. Our work is about transferring the success of the North Sea to the South.But the importance of these projects extends beyond emissions reductions or industrial cost savings. It’s about accountability. Our generation must ensure that industries no longer emit CO₂ unchecked when viable solutions exist”, Nikolas added.
He also pointed out that decisive action needs to be taken now or we will risk our industrial sector falling behind. Without investment in CCS, energy prices will rise, emissions costs will escalate, and economies like Greece's may increasingly shift toward tourism alone.
“Greece is already experiencing a significant brain drain. Reversing this trend means supporting the industries that offer stable, high-quality employment. Our cement plants have operated for over a century, and our refineries rank among the nation’s top exporters. CCS is a strategic safeguard—for these industries, for economic resilience, and for our shared future”, Nikolas concluded.