In areas where there will hardly be avoidable CO2 emissions in the future, the Greens support the capture and underground storage of the greenhouse gas. The party conference decided this.
At their party conference in Karlsruhe, the Greens decided to change course in dealing with the underground storage and use of carbon dioxide (CO2). The majority of delegates followed a request from the party leadership to formulate the corresponding chapter in the program for the 2024 European elections. The capture and underground storage of the greenhouse gas CO2 is therefore now a legitimate instrument for the Greens in dealing with increasing global warming – but only in certain cases.
In “a few sectors,” such as the cement industry, “there will continue to be emissions in the future that are difficult or impossible to avoid given the current state of technology,” the resolution states. “In these areas, we want to take advantage of technological opportunities and capture the CO2 directly during production, store it in a safe and stable form and, if necessary, use it as part of closed carbon cycles.” To this end, a uniform regulatory framework should be created across Europe and an infrastructure with shared CO2 storage should be created.
Basis sometimes warned against changing its previous position
The technology of underground CO2 storage (CCS), the use of which is also being promoted by Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck, has been criticized by environmentalists as dangerous. Individual delegates therefore warned of a “fundamental change of position” in the run-up to the vote. However, a basic motion to reject the change of course did not find a majority at the party conference. The Green Party member of the Bundestag Felix Banaszak explained that global warming had progressed too far for the Greens to forego any solutions to deal with greenhouse gases. “We need them all in the end,” he said.
In principle, according to the text that has now been approved, from the Greens’ perspective, the following must still apply: “In order to achieve the climate goals, we have to quickly get out of coal, oil and gas and into renewable energies and green hydrogen,” said the party. “The energy transition and decarbonization in industry is our priority,” the resolution continues. The use of CCS for the production of so-called blue hydrogen using fossil fuels is rejected. Reference is also made to statements by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), according to which limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees can only be achieved if the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is actively reduced.