UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Climate Change Ed Miliband has said the carbon capture and storage (CCS) sector will create 4,000 jobs “straight away” and 50,000 jobs over the medium term.
In an interview on the UK’s BBC Radio 4 he said, “I’ve come back from China recently – they realise … [the green economy] is the growth opportunity of the 21st century. India also realises this. We can argue about the figures until the cows come home but, frankly, if you want to create growth in our economy, and want to create the jobs of the future, this is an absolutely essential part of the answer.”
The UK’s state-owned GB Energy is set to announce its first project today, while debate continues to intensify in Britain over the cost and timeframes in delivering Net Zero.
This week the leader of the UK opposition Conservative Party – which was in power six years ago when Net Zero was enshrined into law – made a dramatic u-turn on decarbonisation under a policy renewal programme, saying reaching Net Zero by 2050 “is impossible”.
Miliband said he was “confident” in meeting the government’s pledges, supported by £40bn-a-year investment from the private sector over the next five years.
“At the moment we’re in the grip of fossil fuel markets controlled by petrostates and dictators, and the UK gas price is controlled by global markets – and there’s really only one answer: clean, home-grown power,” he said. “Every solar panel we put up … and grid we build gives us greater energy security. The cheapest form of power to build and operate today is renewable power.”
The UK government needs to refine its approach to funding allocation, accelerate delivery of carbon markets and deploy public finance through GB Energy and the National Wealth Fund, according to a new report from trade body the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA).
A UK-focused industry debate following the report highlighted how CCUS project costs are still rising and the government needs to get a better handle on the role it must play to manage risks.
The consensus among participants was that more subtle mechanisms were needed to deliver what is needed for the long term.
Costs are rising due to a lack of predictable carbon prices, barriers to full value-chain collaboration, and uncertainty in the negative emissions market, which facilitates the trading of credits for removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
