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German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Change Robert Herbeck presents the 2024 German Economic Report and Forecast to the media in Berlin on February 21, 2024. Michele Tantusi—Getty Images
Recognizing that time is running out to fight climate change, Germany plans to advance a much-discussed technology that would enable underground carbon storage at offshore sites, the country’s deputy prime minister said on Monday. .
Europe’s biggest economy is making good progress in increasing renewable energy sources and use, but solutions are needed to address carbon emissions from some sectors such as the cement industry, which are “difficult to reduce,” business community says. said Robert Habeck, who is also in charge of the. and the Minister for Climate.
Germany, which has many energy-intensive industries, aims to reduce emissions to “net zero” by 2045.
Habeck’s proposed “carbon management strategy” still needs detailed legislation, but it envisages the transport and underwater storage of carbon dioxide within Germany’s exclusive economic zone, excluding marine protected areas. are doing. Habeck said he does not expect to approve land-based storage sites, but it could be considered later if German state governments approve.
Opponents argue that so-called carbon capture and storage is unproven at scale and is less effective than alternatives such as solar and wind power in decarbonizing the energy sector.
Habeck, a member of the environmentalist Green Party, recalled the opposition when carbon storage was debated in the 2000s. But he said “the technology has been further developed and from my point of view it is mature and safe” and is now being used in research projects as well as elsewhere.
Neighboring Denmark last year launched an ambitious project aimed at burying vast amounts of carbon dioxide under the North Sea.
“Time is running out,” Habeck told a news conference in Berlin. “In the 2000s, we could have said, “Let’s see what happens.” Today, we are still finding technological solutions to ensure climate neutrality in cement and other sectors. I found out that it wasn’t.”
“Temperatures are heading towards above 1.5 degrees, which means we are no longer in the luxury or comfort zone where we can wait for any reason,” Habeck added. “We have to use what we have.”
He was referring to the international goal of limiting future global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), which predates the industrial revolution.
Limiting global warming to around 1.5°C could avert or at least reduce some of the most devastating future climate damage, and for some people it is a matter of life and death. Scientists have discovered this in a number of reports.
Habeck said it would be “several years” before Germany could store carbon dioxide under the sea, and said it would be wise to coordinate European efforts. He cited projects in Denmark as well as Norway, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Environmental group Greenpeace complained that Germany’s plan “has traces of energy and heavy industry” and would allow industries to continue operating as usual, even if there are “climate-friendly solutions”. Ta.
“This is costly, unsustainable and will burden future generations with further long-term debt,” Karsten Smid, an energy expert at the group’s German branch, said in a statement.
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