Forests are the largest carbon sink in Greece; therefore, most measures related to CDR revolve around increasing forests’ carbon sink capabilities. The plan mentions better agricultural practices to increase the LULUCF sector’s net removals, but also the use of biochar. Greece plans to use the Common Agricultural Policy’s toolbox to incentivise the uptake of practices resulting in higher soil carbon uptake. A new inventory and monitoring system for forests has been implemented this year. In general, the restoration of forests (through the National Rehabilitation Plan) and coastal regions is at the centre of Greece’s removals strategy. Climate adaptation measures are also at the forefront of LULUCF-related action, given the increasing risks of forest fires and desertification.

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is one of the ten strategic priorities set out in the Greek NECP. This slew of technologies is set to play a key role in decarbonising the energy, industry and transport sectors. For example, Greece has the ambition to bring the energy sector’s net emissions close to zero by 2035. Besides substantial increases in renewable energy capacities, captured CO₂ from biomass and pellet steam power plants will be used to produce gas and liquid fuels. For the transport sector, one third of fuel needs are forecasted to be met by advanced biofuels and 50% through synthetic fuels. The latter include renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO), for which direct air capture is mentioned as a source of CO2. Regarding industry, cement factories are the main focus, as the production of building materials represents a substantial share of Greece’s overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Direct Air Capture technologies are mentioned but are only planned for after 2045 in Greece’s climate strategy.

The most significant funding source is the National Recovery and Resilience Plan Greece 2.0. Among others, a total of EUR 600 million is dedicated to reforestation, biodiversity, flood mitigation, irrigation network upgrades and a waste management reform. Following the adoption of the RepowerEU package at the European level, measures aimed at further financing the promotion of CCS technologies for the industry have been proposed to be included in the Recovery and Resilience Plan.  Project Prinos CCS is undergoing a funding request for EUR 50 million, which is subject to the European Commission’s approval. The project has also been selected in the sixth list of Projects of Common Interest under the Trans-European Network – Energy (TEN-E) Regulation. The project will create a CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure in depleted oil reservoirs under the seabed. The project is estimated to cost EUR 1 billion and will have a capacity of 1MtCO₂ per year initially in Q4 2025, ramping up to a maximum of 3MtCO₂ per year when fully operational in Q4 2027.

Two CCUS projects were selected as part of the third call for large-scale projects under the EU Innovation Fund. Project IFESTOS will retrofit an existing cement plant with carbon capture technologies, aiming to capture up to 1.9MtCO₂ per year. The IRIS project will capture CO₂ emitted by the production of blue hydrogen. While these projects are not considered CDR, they can have spillover effects by creating the necessary CO2 infrastructure.

The Greek Green Funds amount to EUR 400 million. Among others, these funds are available for companies in the Greek territory active in natural resources conservation, biomass/biogas for energy production or the production of energy from renewable resources.

The Hellenic Fund for Sustainable Development invests in companies from several sectors active in Greece. Among others, it invests in biomass for energy production and in agricultural companies implementing sustainable practices. Its focus is broad and could include CDR.

The Ministry of Development sets research priorities for all sectors in Greek economy. The priorities for the environment and cyclical economy sector and the sustainable energy sector include several streams linked to CCUS.