UK Government should not abandon CCS as spending review looms

“Back in May, the newly formed coalition government announced
a clear commitment to investing in CCS technology for four coal-fired power
stations and spoke about the importance of promoting ‘the green industries that
are so essential for our future’. Cut backs and spending cuts are a necessary
compromise for economic recovery and growth but climate change is an issue that
is much too urgent to be put aside.

Many leading economists have declared that investment in clean technology is
essential to long to economic recovery. We simply cannot afford to delay the
transition to a low-carbon economy and investing in our future.

The commercial development and widespread adoption of CCS technology is crucial if
we are to meet emission reduction targets and it is difficult to see how we
could achieve them without this technology. Only yesterday, the European
Climate Foundation (ECF) launched their Roadmap 2050 report in which they
called for expanded support and early deployment for CCS demonstration projects
in order to achieve a zero-carbon power sector.

Building the four CCS demonstration schemes as soon as possible would almost certainly
lead to very significant benefits for the nation's economy in terms of
expertise, the adoption of British technology and the creation of UK-wide
manufacturing jobs. While Germany leads on wind power and France on nuclear,
the UK has a real opportunity to become a world-leader on CCS.

The Treasury should realise that a cut in demonstration funds, which is not
strictly government expenditure, would be a false economy for the UK and a
regressive step in terms of UK global leadership on climate solutions.
Investment in low-carbon technologies will bring huge economic benefits both
regionally and nationally and will allow the UK government to realise its
ambition to become a green leader.

Placing clean technology in areas such as Teesside in the North of England which
reportedly have the most to lose from proposed cuts is also essential. We
cannot underestimate the importance of carbon capture and storage to the future
of energy intensive industries. CCS capability will not only ensure the future
for these industries but will also make the North East an attractive location
for future investment.

Our leaders need to recognise that sustained government support for CCS
technology is central decarbonising our economy and the related benefits. The
cost of this ambition is likely to be significantly less than the cost of inaction.
Far from being an avoidable expense, the CCS sector has the potential to create
hundreds and thousands of UK jobs and contribute billions of pounds to our
economy while helping to ensure a sustainable future for us all."