The Greens want to open up to the long-controversial underground storage of carbon dioxide. This emerges from the draft of the election program for the European elections in June 2024 presented in Berlin on Thursday.
It says that in order to achieve the climate goals, we must quickly get out of coal, oil and gas and into renewable energies and hydrogen. However, in a few areas there will still be emissions in the future that are difficult or impossible to avoid given the current state of technology, for example in the cement industry.
“In these areas we want to take advantage of technological opportunities and capture, store and, if necessary, use the CO2 directly during production,” the draft states. A uniform regulatory framework should be created across Europe.
A “European-wide uniform ticket system”
The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” first reported on the change of course. The Greens’ program for the 2019 European elections said that “risk technologies” such as CO2 capture and storage would be rejected because of the unforeseeable dangers to health, drinking water and the environment.
In the draft program for the next European elections, the Greens also propose a large “investment program for innovation and resilience” from 2026. Europe should continue to grow together as part of an “infrastructure union” through strong common infrastructures – with a “fully developed and integrated European rail, electricity and hydrogen network”. The Greens want a “European-wide uniform ticket system” that would make traveling by train more attractive. In addition, compensation rules for rail delays should be improved.
