Bundestag allows CO2 storage under the sea

03.02.2026

Source: E & M powernews

On January 30, the German Bundestag passed legislation to enable the storage of CO2 in the seabed and export for offshore storage.

On January 30, the Bundestag created the legal conditions for the storage of carbon dioxide in the seabed. The resolutions allow CO2, which is produced in the cement, lime and aluminum industries, among others, to be captured and permanently stored under the seabed. Certain protected areas remain exempt. The aim is to reduce so-called unavoidable residual emissions that cannot be completely avoided by industry.

The decision is based on two bills proposed by the German government. Firstly, Parliament amended the High Seas Dumping Act and secondly, it created the legal basis for the export of CO2 for storage in other countries in accordance with the London Protocol on marine protection. According to the German government, this is intended to make the use of carbon capture and storage technology, or CCS for short, legally secure.

Opposition votes against

The Bundestag's Environment Committee had already paved the way for the resolutions on January 28. With the votes of the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition parties, the committee voted in favor of adopting both bills. The AfD, Alliance 90/The Greens and The Left rejected the amendments to the High Seas Contribution Act. The AfD and Die Linke voted against the draft bill on the export of CO2, while the Greens abstained.

The coalition parliamentary groups emphasized the importance of CCS for achieving the climate targets in the parliamentary procedure. A representative of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group explained that the goal of climate neutrality by 2045 could not be achieved without this technology. With the Carbon Dioxide Storage Act, which came into force in November, and the new regulations that have now been passed, the German government is making a fundamental change of course. The laws are relevant both for the economy and for climate protection.

The SPD parliamentary group also referred to clear guard rails. Any form of CO2 storage in the seabed would be subject to strict protection targets for the marine environment. According to the Bundestag minutes, SPD MP Dunja Kreiser explained that CCS is not a substitute for consistent climate protection on land, but merely a supplementary option for unavoidable residual emissions. However, following recent amendments, the legal framework does not fundamentally rule out the use of the technology for gas-fired power plants.

The opposition has expressed clear criticism. Fabian Fahl, climate policy spokesperson for the left-wing parliamentary group, accused the German government of turning the oceans into a "dumping ground for the fossil fuel lobby". The Left also referred to the high state subsidies required to build a CCS infrastructure and saw the danger of extending fossil fuel business models. A parliamentary group motion against the expansion of such an infrastructure did not receive a majority in the Environment Committee.

Alliance 90/The Greens also criticized the draft legislation. One MP criticized the fact that neither the Carbon Dioxide Storage Act nor the new regulations clearly define which emissions are considered unavoidable residual emissions. At the same time, the federal government was setting contradictory incentives with the planned expansion of gas-fired power plants, in the view of the Greens. The AfD fundamentally questioned the scientific basis of CCS technology.

Author: Susanne Harmsen