Germany to draw up legislation to enable carbon storage

BERLIN (AP) — A top German official says the government is working on legislation enabling the use of underground carbon storage, a much-discussed technology that he said is preferable to releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, who is also Germany’s economy and climate minister, pointed in a speech Thursday to the prospects of a “new market” for carbon capture and storage, particularly in the lime and cement industry. The technology has yet to be deployed at scale. Opponents maintain that it is unproven and has been less effective than alternatives such as solar and wind at decarbonizing the energy sector. Habeck said that “we are no longer in a situation (where) we can pick and choose.”