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Campaigners are calling on the chancellor to cut the government’s £24bn spending plans for carbon capture technologies in favour of funding green schemes that can reliably cut emissions and lower energy bills. The environmentalist Chris Packham is leading an 11th-hour appeal for the Treasury to use the upcoming budget to scale back government support for carbon capture, which currently exceeds planned spending for the US, the EU, Norway, and Japan combined.
Calls to Redirect Funds to Households
Packham described it as a national embarrassment that the government has earmarked £24bn to support a series of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects developed by major oil companies, including BP and Equinor. He urged ministers to alter course during the budget.
As reported by Environment | The Guardian, the naturalist stated that CCS is a technology fairytale and that the UK is pumping more taxpayer money into it than any other country globally. This intervention arrives as the government reportedly plans to reduce grants available to households wishing to swap gas boilers for electric heat pumps, a transition vital for reducing building heating emissions that comprise roughly a fifth of total UK greenhouse gas emissions.
Packham urged the government to protect funding commitments that help households lower their bills instead of financing expensive projects with uncertain outcomes. Aled Dilwyn Fisher, a senior researcher at Oil Change International, told Environment | The Guardian that reducing support for proven climate solutions while continuing to fund unreliable carbon capture projects adds insult to injury, warning against gambling billions on the fossil fuel industry.
Debate Over Carbon Capture Viability
Proponents of carbon capture technology argue that trapping emissions from fossil fuel infrastructure before release and piping carbon dioxide into underground storage offers a permanent climate solution for industries unable to replace fossil fuels. However, environmental groups point out that while some instances have succeeded, many high-cost projects have struggled and delivered lower carbon savings than expected, prompting fears the technology is used by fossil fuel companies to prolong fossil fuel use.
Packham warned that failing to rein in the planned CCS spending would signal that the government prioritizes big oil over people and the planet. Work on initial UK CCS projects has already commenced at the East Coast Cluster near Teesside and Humberside, and the HyNet Cluster near Merseyside and north Wales, while a second phase includes £200m for the Acorn project in Aberdeenshire alongside £80m from the Scottish government.
Rosie Hampton, a campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, previously criticized the government’s approach as fantasy plans regarding turning the North Sea into a carbon dumping ground, urging politicians to focus instead on warm homes, better public transport, and green jobs.
Industry Defense of the Technology
Addressing an industry event this month, Martin McCluskey, the parliamentary undersecretary at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, stated that the government remains committed to carbon capture, though fiscal pressures might influence the pace of industry development.
Meanwhile, the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) reported that initial UK projects have already awarded over £4bn in supply-chain contracts, supporting approximately 350 UK companies and 5,500 construction jobs. Mark Sommerfeld, the CCSA’s UK director, warned that pulling back now would undermine investor confidence, risk leaving infrastructure underused, and deepen industrial decline, urging the budget to honor existing commitments to secure lasting growth and energy security.
The government has been contacted for comment regarding the budget appeals.
