German carbon storage law reform clears final hurdle

The council of federal state governments in Germany has approved a reform that allows carbon storage under the seabed, enables the buildout of pipelines to transport CO2, and excludes the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) for coal power plants. The vote marked the final green light for Germany’s major law reform to build up CCS.

The law is “an important building block to decarbonise our economy,” and the new regulatory framework “eagerly awaited by industry,” said Stefan Rouenhoff, parliamentary state secretary in the federal economy ministry, in a plenary statement.

The reform allows carbon storage under the seabed in the North Sea. In addition, it gives federal states the option to allow onshore storage, but it remains to be seen whether states will do so in the face of years of public opposition to the technology.

The German government introduced the reform needed to enable the broad application of CCS and CCU (carbon capture and utilisation) in the country earlier this year. It said technologies to capture, transport and permanently store carbon dioxide deep underground are “indispensable” to reach Germany’s targets of climate neutrality by 2045 and net negative emissions after 2050. The government also said that CCS is needed to remain competitive.

Energy and climate researchers also say that CCS/CCU will be necessary to a certain extent to reach international climate targets. However, critics have argued for years that the techology could be used to extend the lifetime of the fossil fuel industry, thus hurting the climate rather than helping protect it. Capturing CO2 is already permitted in Germany, but laws have made it impossible to start a storage project and severely limit large-scale transport.