Press Statement Friday February 7th 2025
The Public Accounts Committee published its report into Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) this morning, Friday February 7th.
Stuart Boothman from Just Transition Wakefield was very clear in his comments. He said “We submitted evidence to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for their report on CCUS, and find many of our concerns repeated by the committee. They agree with us.”
Stuart added “The Public Accounts Committee is there to scrutinise Government spending. All we hear at the moment is more cuts to public spending, more cuts to benefits, harming the least well-off. At the same time, the government is giving billions of our money to subsidise outrageously expensive, false solutions to climate change. Most of this will come from every one of us through extra levies on our electricity bills. This is just not fair.”
The Public Accounts Committee Report Summary said that:
- “A quarter of this financial support will come from the Exchequer, but three quarters will come from levies on consumers who are already facing some of the highest energy bills in the world.”
- The “Department is reliant on the technology working to contribute to achieving net zero but cannot be sure how these first–of a kind projects will perform.”
- “The Department will need to find alternative ways of reducing emissions… … if the technology’s performance is not as good as it expects.”
Stuart said “It is clear that the Committee does not have confidence in CCUS technologies. We share that lack of confidence – the vast majority of CCS projects over the last 30 years have been cancelled from a mixture of cost overruns, technical failures, or both. The two that have sustained for a few years have only captured 50% to 60% of carbon dioxide generated. Nowhere near the 95% claimed by the industry. The Committee’s report is tantamount to admitting that CCUS does not work. But we don’t need it for power generation – we have cost-effective, renewable technologies AND grid storage to fill the gaps – we don’t understand why the government is chasing the least effective, least reliable options.”
Stuart added “Carbon Capture is a gift of our money to the fossil fuel industry. They get the profit, we pay the cash. They get the profit, we get floods, heatwaves and wildfires. If the fossil fuel industry believe it works, the industry should pay for it from its obscene profits.”
Stuart finished by saying “The whole CCUS industry is a scam to carry on burning fossil fuels, AND a subsidy gravy train for polluting industries. Why are we paying vast sums to the corporations that have destroyed our stable climate? And why are these freebies to the rich paid from our electricity bills, we who can least afford it? This should be criminal. It is certainly immoral.”
Ends
- Stuart can be contacted for further comment by emailing info@justtransitionwakefield.org.uk .
- The Public Accounts Committee report is available at https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8576/carbon-capture-usage-and-storage/publications/.
- The Just Transition Wakefield evidence to the committee is available here, https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8576/carbon-capture-usage-and-storage/publications/written-evidence/?page=2, along with all other written evidence.
- CCUS = Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage
- CCS = Carbon Capture and Storage
- PAC = Public Accounts Committee