Negative emissions from carbon capture and storage
Just a few years ago, the issue of negative emissions through CCS ("Carbon Capture and Storage") was little discussed for Germany's strategy in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. However, with the agreement to achieve carbon neutrality in Germany by 2045, a key problem emerged: even with an optimal energy economy, based on renewable energies, residual emissions continue to occur in some industrial sectors. This is due to the fact that decarbonization, in agriculture for example, but also in the building sector, is only getting off to a slow start.
The Carbon Capture and Storage concept encompasses various technologies for removing CO2 from the atmosphere in order to achieve the zero-emissions scenario on balance through so-called "negative emissions". (pv-magazine, 08/25/2021)
A distinction is made between nature-based solutions such as reforestation, renaturation of peatlands and other methods of sequestering carbon in the soil, and technological solutions for capturing and storing greenhouse gases from the air, also called "Direct Air Capturing and Carbon Storage (DACCS)." (pv-magazine, 10/29/2021)
The tightened German Climate Protection Act of June 2021 now stipulates that Germany should have negative emissions from 2050 onwards to fully meet its climate protection targets. It is currently still unclear what number of negative emissions is targeted and what measures and technologies are needed to achieve this. What is certain is that carbon sequestration in forestry and landscape use must be expanded to a much greater extent.
Sources:
pv-magazine, article by Simon Göss: „Neues deutsches Klimaziel nur durch negative Emissionen erreichbar?“ (08/25-21): https://www.pv-magazine.de/2021/08/25/neues-deutsches-klimaziel-nur-durch-negative-emissionen-erreichbar/, last access 11/11/2021 at 12 am.
pv-magazine, article by Simon Göss & Hendrik Schuldt: „Welches Potenzial haben Negativemissionen in Deutschland“ (10/29-21): https://www.pv-magazine.de/2021/10/29/welches-potenzial-haben-negativemissionen-in-deutschland/, last access 11/11/2021 at 11:55 am.
https://www.langfristszenarien.de/enertile-explorer-de/, last access 11/11/2021 at 11:40 am.