The Labour Government will be pursuing an ambitions programme to demonstrate and deploy Carbon Capture and Storage to tackle climate change.  Our proposals will help to make possible a diverse supply of low carbon energy so as to tackle climate change.

In the UK, a number of our existing coal-fired power stations are due to close in the coming decade.

Carbon capture and storage technologies - capturing the CO2, transporting it and locking it permanently underground could reduce carbon emissions from coal fired power stations by 90 per cent.

The future of coal in our energy mix poses the starkest dilemma we face: it is a polluting fuel, but is used across the world because it is low cost and it is flexible enough to meet fluctuations in demand for power.

China builds a coal-fired power station every 10 days and many countries are reliant on coal. There is an international imperative for us to make coal clean. In order to ensure that we maintain a diverse energy mix, including maximising our domestic supply, we need new coal-fired power stations but only if they can be part of a low carbon future.

If we solve the problem of coal, we greatly help our chances of stopping dangerous climate change. Chris Smith, Chairman of the Environment Agency said:

“Coal without abatement is quite simply an unsustainable form of energy, producing over 100 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year. The Environment Agency, as the Government’s green advisor, has been for some time calling for carbon capture and storage technology to be urgently trialled and then to become mandatory.

“Today’s announcement is a major milestone towards carbon free electricity, which will help meet the ambitious carbon emissions reduction target of 80% by 2050. We look forward to Government setting out the detail on the conditions for future coal fired power stations.”

“Green Alliance is delighted that the chancellor announced a new financing mechanism for carbon capture and storage.  We have pushed hard for support for this vital technology in the battle against climate change.”

A New Industry

We are investing in skills so our industries can lead Carbon Capture and Storage not just within Britain but at power stations around the world.

Research suggests that carbon abatement technologies could sustain 50,000 jobs by 2030, and by making high-energy industry sustainable, it could secure even more. This is a massive regional opportunity for Britain. Teesside, Thames Gateway, the Firth of Forth, the Humber, Merseyside and other locations could all be suitable for CCS.  For our North Sea oil and gas industry, CCS can herald a new low carbon future. Just as the 1960s and 1970s saw a new North Sea industry develop, so in the next decades, we can do the same again with CCS.