Germany gives green light to storing CO2 beneath the seabed and exporting it abroad

The German parliament has approved key legislative changes that will allow captured carbon dioxide (CO₂) to be exported for storage abroad and permanently stored in German waters. The reform supplements a recent amendment to the CO₂ storage law and creates a legal framework for building the infrastructure needed to eliminate emissions that cannot be decarbonised. Critics warn that the changes could encourage the use of carbon capture and storage technology at fossil fuel facilities too, potentially undermining efforts to transform Germany’s energy sector.

The German parliament (Bundestag) has voted to amend laws that are essential to implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, as well as exporting CO₂ abroad and permanently storing it beneath the seabed in German waters. This is the final stage of a wide-ranging reform of Germany’s CO₂ storage regulations and supplements the amendment to the Carbon Dioxide Storage Act adopted in November 2025.

The legislative package thus exempts CO₂ storage beneath the seabed from previous bans under marine dumping laws and allows it to be used to address persistent emissions that cannot be fully eliminated using other technologies.

According to the German government, CCS technology and related components are an essential part of Germany’s climate strategy if the country is to achieve climate neutrality by 2045 and net-negative emissions after 2050. The government and industry organisations argue that these tools are necessary to effectively eliminate emissions from heavy industry and other sectors where achieving zero emissions is technologically challenging.

“It is clear to us that CCS beneath the seabed does not replace rigorous climate action on land, but is only a supplementary option for unavoidable residual emissions from industrial processes,” said Dunja Kreiser, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which is part of Germany’s coalition government.

CO₂ exports and subsea storage are subject to an international legal framework, in particular the London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution, which until now prohibited the disposal of substances at sea. The amendment to the law governing the dumping of captured CO₂ and ratification of amendments to the London Convention  establish the legal conditions for international cooperation on CO₂ storage beyond Germany’s coastal waters.

Criticism from opposition parties and environmental organisations

Environmental critics, including the Green Party and the left-wing Linke party, warn that allowing CCS, including its use at some gas-fired facilities, is poorly defined and could create false incentives to continue burning fossil fuels instead of accelerating the transition to renewable energy.

Critics say the law does not sufficiently distinguish between the necessary deployment of CCS technologies in industry and emissions that should be eliminated through other measures.