Ministers have commissioned new research into the suitability of using an empty gas field near Rotterdam to store carbon dioxide emissions, news agency ANP reports.

This means plans to store the gas under a housing estate in Barendrecht, east of Rotterdam, may not now go ahead, ANP says.
Barendrecht council is totally opposed to the plan, arguing the risks to locals are unclear and house prices may collapse. The potential storage site lies under a residential area of 7,600 homes.
The government sees underground storage as a good way of coping with excess CO2 and has set aside millions of euros to fund experiments. The Barendrecht area has been earmarked for storing CO2 from Shell’s Pernis refinery. Other potential sites are also under investigation.