Labour confirms £22billion funding for carbon captureā€¦ but nothing for Buchan

04/10/2024
A photo of an installation near St. Fergus port in Scotland. (Photo: Storegga earth)

THE UK Government has revealed plans to allocate £22 billion towards carbon capture initiatives in England- but has come under fire for making no mention of the Acorn project on the Buchan coast.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband are visiting the North West of England today to announce the financial support for two locations in Teesside and Merseyside, anticipated to attract £8 billion in private investment for these areas.

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Nonetheless, the funding is exclusively allocated to ā€˜Track 1ā€™ carbon capture projects, leaving projects like Acorn, classified as ā€˜Track 2ā€™, uncertain about their future.

The announced funding will generate 4,000 new employment opportunities and aid in the reduction of more than 8.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually – a significant contribution, equivalent to removing approximately four million vehicles from the roads.

The majority of the funding is not new. Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt committed to supporting the sector with £20 billion over a 20-year period. The current Labour administration has contributed an additional £1.7 billion over a more extended period.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “On Monday, 150 years of coal in this country came to an end. Today, a new era begins.

“By securing this investment, we pave the way for securing the clean energy revolution that will rebuild Britain’s industrial heartlands.

“I was proud to kickstart the industry in 2009, and I am even prouder today to turn it into reality. This funding is a testament to the power of an active Government working in partnership with businesses to deliver good jobs for our communities.”

The SNP’s leader at Westminster, Stephen Flynn, has criticised the government for failing to address the Acorn Project.

“This really isn’t that hard ā€“ if you want economic growth, if you want to create jobs, if you want to develop a domestic supply chain, and if you want to hit Net Zero then you invest in the Acorn project,ā€ he said.

“For years we’ve been waiting for the Tories to back this project and despite offering ‘change’ the Labour Government have followed the same path by prioritising projects in the North of England, choosing not even to mention the Scottish cluster.

“We’ve seen with Grangemouth what happens when you don’t invest in the energy transition and, at this point, Labour look desperate to repeat those mistakes with their absurd tax changes and failure to invest in CCUS here in the North-east.

“We know that Ed Miliband and the Labour Party have lofty ambitions for Net Zero but their clumsy and clueless approach to the North East indicates that they have no idea how to actually deliver on their aims.”

A spokesman for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) insisted the funding in Merseyside and Teesside “is just the start”.

He added: “We will have more to say in in the coming months about the next steps for carbon capture in Humberside, Scotland and elsewhere around the country.”

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