Legnica, 22th September 2025

ZPPM / 20S / IX / 2025

European Commission
Secretariat-General
Rue de la Loi 200/ Wetstraat 200
B – 1049 Brussels
Belgium

Position of the Polish Copper Employers’ Association on draft of COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) supplementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing the certification methodologies for permanent carbon removals activities  (Ref. Ares(2025)5828622).

Response of Polish Copper Employers’ Association to the public consultation on the Draft delegated regulation supplementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing the certification methodologies for permanent carbon removals activities

Title of the initiative: Carbon removals and carbon farming – methodologies for certifying permanent carbon removals – draft of COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) supplementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing the certification methodologies for permanent carbon removals activities – Ref. Ares(2025)5828622; Type of act: Delegated regulation; Expert group: E03861

The Polish Copper Employers’ Association would like to input our feedback in legislative initiative on Carbon removals and carbon farming – methodologies for certifying permanent carbon removals – our point of view is presented to Draft Act (Draft delegated regulation and Annex) – Ares(2025)5828622.

ISSUE

Scope 1 CO₂ emissions from copper production are inherent to the non-ferrous metals sector. These emissions result from the oxidation of organic carbon contained in copper concentrate. Carbon is a component of the ore extracted from domestic mines and cannot be effectively removed during the ore enrichment stage. Unfortunately, the number of free CO₂ emission allowances will be gradually scaled down by the end of the 2030s, which will inevitably result in a drastic increase in the price of allowances.

Taking the above into account, maintaining production at the current level, will result in the non-ferrous metals sector being burdened with additional costs of hundreds of millions EUR per year, only for CO₂ emissions from the smelting of concentrates in the copper smelting industry.

Currently, the biggest limitation to investment in a CO₂ capture installation for a production plant burdened with process emissions is the lack of infrastructure of CO₂ transmission and underground injection. Industrial producers do not intend to engage in the entire CCS value chain, and instead would only like to introduce the captured gas into the transport network. At the same time, current forms of support (project co-financing from European funds) require active involvement of CO₂ emitters in the entire CCS chain – participation in costs, risks, etc. These requirements, often a major challenge for industrial producers, significantly limit investments in CCS technologies, thus reducing the potential for building capture installations, as well as transport networks and underground CO₂ storage.

It is worth noting that capturing CO₂ from industrial installations itself is associated with high CAPEX and OPEX, which, given the current prices of CO₂ emission allowances, do not provide a positive economic return on investment. Adding even partial costs for expanding the transport network and CO₂ storage incurred by the industrial plant to the above constitutes a fundamental barrier to the development of the CO₂ market.

Only low-cost CO₂ capture will guarantee a positive approach of companies towards CCS investments, therefore It would be reasonable to separate the CCS value chain in terms of allocated funds – funds for capture installations and separate funds for the transport network and underground storage.

Regardless of the significant challenges and problems associated with CCS installations – e.g. technical, regulatory and legal issues, availability of carbon dioxide storage sites, CO₂ transport network, social acceptance, available financing sources – the costs of construction and subsequent operation of the installation are high, thus reducing European companies’ competitiveness towards global producers that are not burdened with the costs of CO₂ process emissions. This is especially important in the commodities sector, where prices are regulated by the global market.

In the case of copper, silver, and gold – metals whose prices are determined on global metal exchanges – it is impossible to sell the metal at a higher price that would compensate for the costs of production using CCS technology. European copper producers, as the only copper producers in the world burdened with such significant process emissions costs, will bear additional costs related to the operation of CCS technology. In this context, doubts arise as to whether implementing CCS technology within the production chain will contribute to the continued commercial viability of copper production from its own minerals.

This is not the case for other non-price-taking industries (cement, lime, chemical, petrochemical, and steel) that are equally burdened by CO₂ process emissions, but the increased production costs of a plant that has implemented CCS technology are not as challenging as they are for the non-ferrous metals sector. Cement with a lower carbon footprint, produced in a plant with a CCS installation, will be more expensive, but the market and EU or national regulations will allow for higher sales. This may be due, for example, to public tender criteria and the presence of customers willing to pay more for a „green” product.

Implementing CCS technology, crucial for the decarbonization of heavy industry, instead of bringing tangible benefits, will create an additional problem that cannot be solved independently: the transport and sequestration of carbon dioxide. The implementation of CCS technology, essential for decarbonization and meeting the EU climate goals, will burden the sector with significant investment and operating costs, but it will not solve the emissions problem until a policy regarding CO₂ transport to storage sites (including the sharing of transport costs) is implemented.

SOLUTIONS

The European Commission is expected to develop solutions for the CO₂ market that will make carbon dioxide transport and storage services cheap and available to all interested parties. Additionally, it is expected to implement support mechanisms (including targeted subsidies exclusively for capture installations) for emitters who decide to invest in CCS technology.

The most important of these are:

• Providing industrial emitters with the right and easy use of transport and storage CO₂ services without the need to participate in the entire CCS chain (financially, technically, in terms of liability and risk). Most often, the industrial producer is not involved in the areas of CO₂ transport and storage, therefore it is important to create companies specializing and responsibly in this field, to which the interested plant could join with its CO₂ The CO₂ transport and storage service should be easy and relatively cheap to encourage investors to implement CCS technology.
• Proposing a legal framework in which the emitter transferring CO2 to the transport network is solely responsible for the quality of the gas and is not responsible for the further course of the process (transport, underground injection, monitoring, possible re-emission, etc.).
• Apart from the issue of transport and storage of carbon dioxide, the installation CO2 capture causes a significant increase in production costs preceded by a large CAPEX for the investment. It is necessary to develop mechanisms to compensate for such costs through a system of subsidies (e.g., mandatory price premiums) for copper produced in Europe with using CCS installations.
• Allocating dedicated funds for industrial plants solely to support investments in CO₂ capture installations (CAPEX) and operating costs (OPEX).
• Introducing tender/public procurement requirements for the supply of copper/silver with a certificate of metal production using CCS technology.
• Proposing solutions aimed at increasing the competitiveness of domestically produced commodities and good in global markets (Asia, Australia, South America, and North America), despite the burden of higher production costs resulting from the use of CCS technology.

Yours faithfully

Jarosław Dudkowiak
CEO & President of the Management Board of the Polish Copper Employers’ Association

This position is based on expert opinions and reports from member entities of the Polish Copper Employers’ Association.

The Polish Copper Employers’ Association is the employers’ organization, independent in its operations from state and local government authorities and administration, as well as other organizations. Our organization brings together over 120 employers, employing nearly 38,000 employees. The Association was founded by KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., and our members also include private entities, particularly those in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector, as well as local government companies with no financial ties to the KGHM Group. For nearly 30 years, the Association has been monitoring and reviewing draft legislation relevant to the economy, protecting the rights and representing the interests of employers and entrepreneurs.

Polish Copper Employers’ Association: Transparency register:: TR ID 308627025380-23