According to Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Norway wants to store all the CO2 produced in Europe. “Without the capture and subsequent storage of the greenhouse gas, it will not be possible to achieve the climate protection goals,” said Store on Monday in Oslo after a meeting with Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He knows the fears in Germany, Store added, alluding to the rejection of so-called CCS technology in Germany.
But Norway has a lot of good experience in storing CO2 at a depth of 3,000 meters under the North Sea. In the future, the storage facilities could store all of the greenhouse gas produced in Europe. “We have experience and we know it stays there. It’s a safe place to store it.” Norway later wants to use the carbon dioxide as a raw material again.
Scholz also supports the project. Germany receives gas from Norway, but wants to return CO2 in the future. The chancellor avoided the question of whether CCS technology could then also be used in Germany. “There have been major, impressive technological developments in recent years,” Scholz said. He spoke of a fascinating technology. Another variant is that the CO2 produced during industrial production does not escape in the first place, but can be used at the production site.