German vice-chancellor Robert Habeck
Germany’s change of heart on CCS
Technology shunned by country’s politicians for more than a decade looks set for a key role in government’s new decarbonisation strategy
Germany’s long-standing resistance to the use of CCS is softening as pressure mounts on the government to get its decarbonisation strategy back on track. Ministers are expected to set out a plan for the technology when they publish a carbon management strategy later this year. Depending on the government’s readiness to support domestic projects, this could open the door to the development of significant new CCS capacity in Germany for the first time since the failure more than a decade ago of two high-profile pilot projects that sparked a public and political backlash against the technology. It could also give fresh impetus to existing projects aimed at capturing CO₂ in Germany for transport
Also in this section
12 March 2026
Role of world’s largest carbon cap-and-trade market under scrutiny as war in Iran threatens to drive EU energy costs to unsustainable levels
10 March 2026
Europe urgently needs to bring more projects to FID, as CCS investors warn they might divert capital to faster-growing regions
9 January 2026
A shift in perspective is needed on the carbon challenge, the success of which will determine the speed and extent of emissions cuts and how industries adapt to the new environment
2 January 2026
This year may be a defining one for carbon capture, utilisation and storage in the US, despite the institutional uncertainty
