UK at risk of losing all CCS expertise, government told

MPs have said that if the government doesn’t develop a strategy for carbon capture and storage soon then it must accept that the technology may never play a part in UK energy policy.

In a report on the future of CCS technology, published on 10 February, the House of Commons Energy and Climate Committee says that the sudden cancellation of the £1-billion CCS commercialisation programme in November is disappointing, and has likely ended the UK’s chances of developing the infrastructure required to enable CCS technology by the mid-2020s.

The report adds that unless the government comes up with a clear strategy soon, any remaining knowledge, investment, assets and expertise on the technology in the UK “will all be lost”.