How to End the Tug-of-War Over Carbon Capture
Climate advocates are stuck in debates over whether the technology helps or harms. The better question is, who should pay for it?
A tool in the arsenal to reduce emissions.
Photographer: Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images
At the end of September, the UK was being cheered and celebrated for becoming the first G-7 nation to fully ditch coal-fired electricity. Just a few days later, the unified voice of celebration had splintered as people accused the government of making an expensive climate misstep by committing to carbon capture and storage development.
Ministers have pledged almost £22 billion ($29 billion) over 25 years to support the UK’s first carbon capture and storage projects. The funding will aid the delivery of two industrial clusters in Merseyside and Teesside, supporting undersea storage and pipelines as well as carbon capture at three projects producing blue hydrogen, power and energy-from-waste. It builds on a pledge to spend £20 billion over two decades on the technology made by a Conservative government in 2023.