The German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze stated she supports underground carbon storage.
Speaking to the Deutsche Welle (DW) on Saturday, Schulze from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said this step may help Germany fulfill its climate-related goals.
"We need to reopen the debate about carbon storage. Carbon storage has long been opposed because it will extend coal-based power generation. However, by ditching coal, this opposition should end," she explained.
Talking about the call for forestation aimed at combating carbon emissions, the environment minister said: "Be aware of illusions. The number of trees needed to face our current carbon emissions is impossible to be reached."
The German News Agency reported that Schulze has called for reducing carbon emissions, so it is far better to avoid carbon emissions from the beginning rather than making daunting efforts to collect carbon, reuse and store it later."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had previously highlighted the possibility of carbon storage; however, her suggestion was slammed by environment advocates.
Hubert Weiger, head of the German conservation organization BUND, said: "We clearly warn against considering untested, harmful, and expensive techniques like underground carbon storage as a mean to protect the climate."
