"Last alternative"

Rules for CO2 storage are now fixed

(Bild: Werner Pöchinger)

The federal government has agreed on rules for storing CO2 in Austria. A guideline for dealing with unavoidable CO2 emissions, the so-called "Carbon Management Strategy" (CMS), was adopted on Wednesday. "As a last alternative for unavoidable emissions, we need options for storing CO2 under strict safety and environmental conditions," said Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) in a statement.

Like Gewessler, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP), who is responsible for mining and raw materials, emphasizes that the avoidance of CO2 is paramount. However, it must also be possible to store, transport and recycle CO2. The central recommendation of the CMS is the approval of geological storage in Austria.

No general lifting of the storage ban
A ban on CO2 storage has been in force in Austria since 2011. The new strategy is not yet a legislative proposal to lift the storage ban, but is intended to provide the framework for such a law. A change to the legal provisions is not expected before the elections at the end of September.

Greenhouse gas sources that cannot be avoided in the long term can also be found on a small scale in agriculture with methane and nitrous oxide emissions and on a larger scale in industry such as cement or refractory production. In future, these emissions can be stored geologically (Carbon Capture and Storage/CCS) or bound in new products (Carbon Capture and Utilization/CCU). The guideline also deals with the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere using technical or nature-based processes (Carbon Dioxide Removal/CDR).

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also recognizes that CO2 capture and storage is necessary for the implementation of the climate targets in the Paris Agreement, according to a statement from the Climate Ministry.