Earlier this month, the government announced its decision to extend investment in projects aimed at capturing and storing carbon emissions. The plans will see nearly £22 billion invested over the next 25 years to deliver two “carbon capture clusters” on Merseyside and Teesside, building on the last Labour government’s decarbonisation programme announced back in 2009.
The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, suggested the move marks a “new era for Britain,” one that promises to deliver new jobs, enhance energy security, and drive the UK toward a decarbonised economy. However, many environmental campaigners are less optimistic, arguing that investment in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology risks prolonging the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels, diverting both attention and funding away from renewable energy development.
These fears have been fueled by the apparent eagerness of fossil fuel companies to push for increased investment in CCS, with groups like the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) representing firms such as ExxonMobil and BP, lobbying the government and with a sizeable presence at the recent political party conferences. This has led environmental campaigners to view CCS as a cover to allow continued fossil fuel extraction under the guise of sustainability.
There are also concerns about whether CCS offers a good return on investment. Some estimates suggest that the government’s proposed £22 billion investment in CCS could remove around 8.5 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year, representing just 2.2% of the UK’s total emissions in 2023.
These concerns led 23 academics, including experts from the University of Manchester and Imperial College, to voice their objections in a letter to Ed Miliband last month. They called for the government to delay its decision on CCS until the technology is thoroughly evaluated. Instead, they argue, funds would be better allocated toward expanding renewable energy or supporting emerging technologies like green hydrogen.
So why is the government pushing ahead with these plans?
A report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), published in 2020, found that at least 70 million tonnes of CO2 will need to be captured each year for the government to achieve net zero by 2050. This is also assuming the government hits its targets for renewable energy production and the phasing out of fossil fuels.
While there are natural ways to capture carbon, such as reforestation and the restoration of ecosystems that act as carbon stores, these methods are slow, and relying on them alone would fail to capture the levels of carbon required to reach 70 million tonnes annually by 2050. This is why CCS should be seen as a viable short-term fix to help in the transition away from fossil fuels.
CCS technology is particularly promising for heavy industries that are notoriously difficult and expensive to decarbonise, such as cement and steel manufacturing. In the UK, these industries contribute roughly one-quarter of the country’s total CO2 emissions, with steel, cement, and chemicals responsible for about 70% of that figure.
The technology can be added relatively easily to existing infrastructure, including chemical, cement, and steel industrial sites, as well as fossil fuel power plants, offering a cost-effective, transitional pathway toward clean energy. Retrofitting existing power plants with capture and storage technology also has the added benefit of removing the need to immediately decommission still-functional power plants.
The reality is that investment in both renewables and carbon capture will be necessary if the government is serious about its mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. The challenge for policymakers is to ensure that CCS is used responsibly—not as a crutch for the fossil fuel industry.
This can be achieved through legislative protections, including requirements on fossil fuel companies to continue phasing out fossil fuel extraction while also utilising CCS technologies to reduce short-term emissions.
In this way, CCS can act as a bridge to a cleaner future.Find out more about our work on net zero
