Government commits £22bn to carbon capture and storage projects over next 25 years
Sat 05 October 2024
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The UK Government has announced that it has reached commercial agreement to fund two carbon capture sites in the North West and North East of England. CCUS technology aims to remove CO2 emissions before it reaches the atmosphere and stores it safely beneath the seabed. The Government says that the technology has been tried and tested and has been deployed across the globe for over 20 years.
The Government says that these projects "will set the UK on course to become a global leader in CCUS and hydrogen – delivering good jobs and turbocharged growth for decades to come".
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "Today’s announcement will give industry the certainty it needs – committing to 25 years of funding in this groundbreaking technology – to help deliver jobs, kickstart growth, and repair this country once and for all.
The Government says that up to £21.7 billion of funding will be available, over 25 years, to make the UK an early leader in two growing global sectors, CCUS and hydrogen, to be allocated between two clusters. The UK’s commitment was first made in 2009, and the confirmation of funding today represents a major success story for British industry.
Louise Kingham, SVP Europe and head of country, UK for bp, said: "Major projects like these have the potential to help stimulate economic growth – supporting thousands of jobs, helping UK companies prosper through the vast supply chains involved and creating the infrastructure to help major industrial companies with their decarbonisation plans.
"Collaboration is key in helping to progress and deliver the energy transition in the UK, and we look forward to continuing to work alongside the government and our partners to move these innovative projects forward."
James Richardson, Acting Chief Executive of the Climate Change Committee, said: "We know these projects will provide good, reliable jobs in communities that need them. It is important that prosperity for these parts of the country is built into a clean energy future."
Emma Pinchbeck, Energy UK’s Chief Executive (and incoming Chief Executive of the Climate Change Committee) said: "CCUS is a tool in our armoury of technologies which we need to decarbonise parts of energy that we currently can’t do with clean electricity, such as major industrial processes.
"The energy transition is gathering pace, and the development of CCUS here for industrial processes unlocks inward investment, creates jobs and helps areas with a proud history of engineering and industry pioneer the technologies of the future in the UK."
However, the plans were criticised by environmental organisations and other climate lobbyists who said that the technology is unproven at scale and that the investment would be better made elsewhere. Greenpeace UK's policy director, Doug Parr called for spending instead on offshore wind or nationwide home insulation.
He told the BBC that £22bn was "a lot of money to... extend the life of planet-heating oil and gas production."
Friends of the Earth also said the government should be spending the money insulating people’s homes, not on a technology it said would just extend the lifespan of the fossil fuel industry.
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