This report is the result of a joint effort carried out by various members of the CGS Europe project (www.cgseurope.net) - the "Pan-European Coordination Action on CO₂ Geological Storage", funded within the 7^th framework programme of the EU.The report is based on current literature Directives and Regulatory Regimes Related to Operational and Safety Risks. It focuses on Europe and the EU CCS and Emission Trading Directives, as well as international regulations and closely follows their definitions and terminology.

The report is not a monograph, but rather an edited compendium of contributions from individual network partners. Hence, chapters and sections may vary in style and level of detail. The authors gratefully acknowledge the various CGS Europe partners who participated in reviewing the draft and the resulting fruitful discussions.

The report is public so that any interested party can readily make use of it. CGS Europe does not claim completeness, nor comprehensive consideration of all legal or regulatory requirements on operational and safety risks in Europe.

The authors hope that this report will provide concise and ultimately helpful information to various stakeholder groups including scientists, competent authorities, operators and regulators. The reader is expected to have some basic understanding of CO2 geological storage and related technologies.