Germany passes draft carbon management strategy

Germany's economy and climate ministry today proposed legal changes that will enable the deployment of carbon capture and storage or use (CCS/CCU) and the transport and offshore storage of carbon in the country, along with the possibility of applying carbon capture to gas-fired power plants.

Federal minister of economic affairs and climate action Robert Habeck presented draft "key points" for a future carbon management strategy, along with a draft amendment to the country's carbon storage law. Habeck stressed that public support for CCS/CCU will be "focused" on emissions that are difficult or impossible to avoid.

Germany's government will also ratify the amendment to the London Protocol, enabling the export of CO2, Habeck said.

Storing carbon will be permitted in Germany's offshore zone with the exception of protected areas. This will enable Germany to "catch up" with its European neighbours, such as Norway. "In this way, we face the responsibility instead of shifting it to others," Habeck said. But permanent carbon storage onshore will remain banned.

The application of CCS to gas-fired power plants was already mentioned as a possibility in the government's draft power plant strategy, to the surprise of observers.

Environmental group Germanwatch today slammed the move as having been carried out "evidently at the instigation of the [pro-business government coalition partner] FDP", adding that it might "destroy acceptance for any kind of CCS in Germany".

CCS for coal-fired power generation will not be allowed. CCS for gas-fired plants will be permitted but not financially supported, the ministry said.

Habeck called the decisions "pragmatic" and "responsible". Without CCS and CCU, Germany's climate targets will be "impossible to reach", he said, adding that "many industrialised countries are already making great strides in developing the technology".

And CCS will be needed for the technical carbon sinks that will be necessary to achieve sufficient negative emissions. Natural sinks will not suffice, Habeck said. The ministry is working on a strategy for negative emissions that will be "a kind of sister strategy to the carbon management strategy".

The draft carbon storage law will provide a legal framework for future CO2 pipeline infrastructure that is expected to be privately sponsored but within a state regulatory framework.

The drafts will now be sent to other ministries, and hearings for the federal states and associations will follow.

Germany plans to reach greenhouse gas neutrality in 2045. Recent documents from the European Commission detail a substantial role for carbon management for the EU to reach its climate targets.

By Chloe Jardine