In 2019, a partnership between BP and German utility ENBW agreed to pay £231 million ($290 million) in annual option fees alone. In 2019, the Climate Change Committee – a public body that advises the Government – concluded that carbon capture and storage is a “necessity, not an option” if the UK is to meet its legally binding target, net -To achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Storage licenses are approved by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), a public body that regulates the oil, gas and carbon storage industry in the North Sea