In late September, Christian Frenzel took part in the official launch of the new DGNB initiative, “Alliance for CO₂ Removal in Construction.” A total of 42 founding members gathered at the DGNB office in Stuttgart and virtually to jointly kick off the initiative. The Alliance aims to advance the active removal and long-term storage of carbon dioxide in the context of the built environment and to create suitable framework conditions for this.
The initiative builds on the recognition that reducing greenhouse gas emissions alone will not be sufficient to achieve climate goals. In addition, ways must be found to permanently remove and store CO₂ from the atmosphere. The construction and real estate sectors can play a key role in this effort, for example through the use of biogenic or CO₂-storing materials, as well as new methods for long-term carbon sequestration in buildings and infrastructure.
“We must not only emit less CO₂, but also actively remove it,” said Christian Frenzel. The alliance’s goal is to develop a robust and measurable framework for such measures. This is intended to create incentives to integrate CO₂ storage more firmly into construction projects and to highlight its potential for climate protection.
The alliance aims to pool knowledge, promote innovation, advance practical applications, and help shape the policy framework. The goal is for the built environment to not only become lower in emissions in the future but also to make an active contribution to the long-term sequestration of carbon dioxide.