German government paves way for CO2 exports – media report

The German government is preparing the necessary regulatory steps to make it possible to export and store the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) in seabeds outside Germany, reports Daniel Wetzel in Welt am Sonntag. To do so, the government plans to ratify international legislation on the prevention of marine pollution (amended Article 6 of the London Protocol), the environment ministry told the newspaper. However, changes in national regulation could still be necessary, said the ministry and added that it expected the European Commission to “re-evaluate” the technology as part of its proposals to reform the EU’s energy and climate policies to reach more ambitious 2030 targets.

According to current scenarios, such as those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Energy Agency (iea) or the think tank Agora Energiewende, underground CO2 storage facilities are essential for achieving climate neutrality because certain sectors, such as agriculture or the cement industry, have only limited options to save CO2. In Germany, carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been viewed very critically, as it has in the past been seen as a way to prolong fossil fuel use. However, the government and other stakeholders are trying to rekindle the debate and ensure support for using the technology at least offshore.