As of: February 27, 2024, 1:05 p.m
By: Fabian Hartmann
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Yesterday the Federal Minister of Economics presented plans for underground CO₂ storage on the high seas.
But they quickly come across a lot of criticism.
Berlin - Yesterday, Monday, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck (Greens), spoke out in favor of storing climate-damaging carbon dioxide (CO₂) from industrial plants in the seabed in the future.
Through so-called Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS), CO₂ is then captured in industrial processes and brought to underground storage facilities for long-term storage.
In the future, CO₂ will be captured and stored in the seabed on the high seas, especially from sectors that are particularly harmful to the climate, such as the lime or cement industries.
This method is also intended to help achieve the agreed climate goals by 2045.
However, marine protected areas would be excluded as a place to store CO₂, emphasized Habeck.
He also assured: “The technology is safe.” The associated risks can be controlled.
Storing CO₂ on land should still be ruled out.
Marine protected areas would also be excluded from the plans.
Appropriate conditions for this should be created promptly.
However, the Economics Minister's plans have already met with significant criticism.
And not just from the ranks of the opposition.
“We have renewables for climate protection in energy production,” said the climate policy spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group, Nina Scheer, in the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
.
On the other hand, she demanded: “It must be excluded from fossil power plants.”
CO₂ storage on the high seas is controversial - Greens also criticize Habeck's plans
Shortly after Habeck's announcement, the first critical voices against his plan for underground CO₂ storage on the high seas also emerged in the ranks of the Greens.
“We don’t see CCS in the energy industry,” said Green climate politician Lisa Badum to the
German Press Agency
(dpa).
This is also what the decisions of the Green parliamentary group provide.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) © IMAGO/KreativMedia Berlin / Marten Ron
Carola Rackete (left) also expressed doubts about the Federal Economics Minister's initiative to the
Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung
: "Habeck wants to turn the North Sea into a huge CO₂ repository and import massive amounts of fracking gas." The fatal thing about CO₂ storage, however, is, " that those responsible for the climate crisis continue to earn huge sums of money and fuel the climate crisis for even longer instead of converting their own production to be climate-friendly.”
Criticism of CO₂ storage in the seabed: Experts believe the technology's savings potential is limited
But it wasn't just criticism of Habeck's plans.
“It was high time for the green climate minister to make a move here,” said the deputy CDU parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, Jens Spahn, to the
Tagesspiegel
: “So far, the traffic light has only ever gotten out of technologies, but with CCS it should finally be bold Spahn also emphasized that Habeck must take an offensive stance “against the renewed skepticism about technology” in his party.
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Meanwhile, expert Klaus Wallmann from the Geomar Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research in Kiel warned that the environmentally friendly potential of the technology is limited.
The savings in emissions that storage of CO₂ under the seabed promises is of little importance: “We are talking about around five percent of the current emissions in Germany,” Wallmann told the newspapers of the Bavarian media group.
“We have to avoid more than 90 percent in other ways.
For example, by saving energy and switching to renewable energies,” Wallmann also warned.
Environmental and climate associations are massively criticizing Habeck's plans to store CO₂ on the high seas
The German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) even described Habeck's plans to store CO₂ in the seabed as a "dam burst" in a comment: "Today, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has opened Pandora's box with the deregulation of commercial CCS technology," he said BUND chairman Olaf Bandt position.
Habeck is jeopardizing the move away from fossil fuels in general with his plans to store CO₂ underground on the high seas, others criticize.
“This strategy allows the industry to ‘business as usual’ and puts the brakes on urgently needed drastic measures to avoid emissions,” Spiegel quoted
Greenpeace
energy expert Karsten Smid as saying.
With their objections to underground forms of CO₂ storage, environmental and climate associations are primarily speaking out against allowing the use of CCS technology for gas power plants.
Because this is exactly what has always been ruled out in consensus discussions.
Habeck's about-face on this point “threatens to destroy social acceptance of any kind of CCS in Germany,” warned climate expert Simon Wolf from the climate protection organization Germanwatch.
He appealed to the Federal Minister of Economics to return to “the path of reason”.
(Fabian Hartmann)