Residual Emissions Requiring Carbon Removal
#00060
Basel-Stadt faces approximately 90,000 tonnes of residual CO2-equivalent emissions that cannot be eliminated through direct decarbonization. KVA Basel (the waste-to-energy plant) is the primary CCS candidate. VBSA has launched a CHF 90,000 pilot feasibility study due by end 2027. Deep geothermal energy remains off the table after the 2006 earthquake.
Parent issue
#00059 Residual Emissions Requiring Carbon Removal
Sustainable Development Goals
Description
Basel-Stadt's climate strategy acknowledges that certain sectors — waste incineration, residual mobility, and parts of the economy — cannot fully eliminate emissions by 2037. These residual emissions of approximately 90,000 tonnes CO2-equivalent must be fully compensated through negative emission technologies from 2037 onward.
KVA Basel, the canton's waste-to-energy plant, is identified as the primary candidate for CCS deployment. The VBSA (Swiss waste management association) launched a pilot feasibility study with a CHF 90,000 budget, examining whether and how captured CO2 from Basel could be transported and stored in Norway. The study confirmed technical feasibility but identified missing legal regulations and organizational structures as open questions. Results are expected by end 2027.
Under the DETEC-VBSA agreement (signed March 2022), Swiss waste incineration plants must commission at least one CO2 capture facility by 2030 with minimum capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year. KVA Linth in Niederurnen (Canton Glarus) will be the first Swiss CCS facility at a waste plant, providing a critical reference project for Basel.
The Swiss negative emission technology landscape offers additional options: Climeworks' Mammoth plant in Iceland captures up to 36,000 tonnes per year, while Neustark operates 19+ carbon mineralization plants across Switzerland and Europe, permanently storing CO2 in demolished concrete. The federal Climate and Innovation Act provides CHF 200 million per year for climate-friendly innovations from 2025–2030.
Deep geothermal energy is explicitly off the table for Basel after the 2006 project triggered a magnitude 3.4 earthquake, causing significant property damage claims. The $100 million project was officially cancelled in 2009.
The climate action plan includes a contingency clause: "If it turns out that CCS is not feasible or financeable in the necessary scope, alternatives will be presented." Copenhagen's failure — where the entire 2025 net-zero target was abandoned when CCS at its waste-to-energy plant proved infeasible — underscores the urgency of maintaining a diversified portfolio.