Cut spending on ‘fairytale’ carbon capture plans, campaigners urge chancellor
Summary
Chris Packham and environmental groups are urging the UK chancellor to reduce a planned £24bn in government support for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and protect funding for household heat pumps and other measures. They say CCS projects are costly and uncertain, while supporters argue the technology could cut emissions from industries that are difficult to decarbonise.Key Facts
- Packham called CCS a “tech fairytale” and said the planned public spending exceeds the combined plans of the US, EU, Norway and Japan.
- The government’s £24bn CCS support plan backs projects developed by major oil companies, including BP and Equinor.
- The appeal comes as the government reportedly plans to reduce grants for households replacing gas boilers with electric heat pumps.
- Heating buildings produces around one-fifth of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the article.
- CCS aims to capture carbon dioxide emissions and pipe them into underground storage.
- Some CCS projects have worked, but other high-cost projects have stalled or delivered less carbon savings than expected.
- Work has begun on the East Coast Cluster near Teesside and Humberside and the HyNet Cluster near Merseyside and north Wales.
- A second phase of government support includes £200m for the Acorn project in Aberdeenshire, alongside £80m from the Scottish government.
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