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Finance Minister Lindner wants to search for deposits of their own gas and oil deposits in Europe
Photo: Michelle Tantussi / REUTERS
FDP chairman Christian Lindner has reiterated his party's call for the far-reaching ban on fracking to extract gas reserves in Germany to be lifted.
In an interview with »ntv.de«, the finance minister advocated looking for »our own gas and oil deposits in Europe«.
Natural gas production through “fracking everywhere” is not an option in Germany, said Lindner.
But it is "sensible and feasible" to use deposits in the North Sea.
In view of the energy crisis, the FDP had already initiated a debate about fracking in Germany in June.
The parliamentary director of the FDP, Torsten Herbst, said at the time that the procedure "under modern security standards did not threaten any relevant environmental damage".
The party also pointed out that fracking gas is already being imported from the USA.
Fracking is considered a threat to groundwater
Lindner also commented positively on the controversial extraction method: "There will also be situations on land where the use of unconventional gas deposits is justifiable." In fracking, natural gas contained in layers of the earth is extracted with chemicals and pressure.
Since 2017, the exploitation of gas deposits in slate and coal seam layers has been banned in Germany because this is considered a threat to the groundwater, among other things.
The method is used intensively in the USA in particular, which has led to a massive increase in gas production there.
There, too, fracking is being discussed with increasing controversy because of the environmental risks.
Lindner also got involved in the debate about a possible lifetime extension for the three remaining German nuclear power plants - and spoke out in favor of continued operation.
"We shouldn't be too selective in this emergency," he said.
In the long term, nuclear power is not an economically viable option.
"In the short and medium term, however, a temporary extension of the term is seriously on the table."
The federal government had recently moved away from its strict no to nuclear power plant runtime extensions.
A spokeswoman for Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) recently referred to a second stress test calculation for the energy supply.
The first calculation had already made very strict assumptions.
"Nevertheless, we'll calculate again and then decide on the basis of clear facts," said the spokeswoman about a possible continued operation of the nuclear power plant.
fek/AFP