Debate on CCS to be held at Holyrood
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A debate will be held in the Scottish Parliament on the future of CCUS (Carbon, Capture Utilisation and Storage) in Scotland.
Earlier this year it was estimated that 20,000 skilled roles would be created over the next decade through the Scottish Cluster CCUS project at its peak.
Acorn CCUS at St Fergus, which leads the cluster, plans to store industrial emissions from heavy emitters around Scotland, such as Ineos’ Grangemouth refinery, in depleted gas fields in the North Sea via the St Fergus terminal in Aberdeenshire.
However, the Scottish Cluster was not selected to be one of the first two UK CCS Clusters, to be up and running by the mid-2020s, instead it was placed in reserve.
The debate in the Scottish Parliament next week will be led by the former convener of the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, Gillian Martin and has been backed by Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP Karen Adam who represents the constituency the Acorn Project is based in.
Earlier this month, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, calling for a rethink on the plans and has said the decision not to include the Scottish Cluster in the Track-1 programme as “inexplicable”.
Commenting, Aberdeenshire East MSP Gillian Martin said: “The Acorn Project is crucial to the development of CCUS to help support decarbonisation and it should have been included in the Track-1 programme.
“The UK Government must urgently rethink its decision, particularly as we look to ensure a Just Transition away from oil and gas and ensuring we retain the talent and skills of the thousands of people who live and work in the north-east in our energy sector.
“The development of the Scottish Cluster could create more than 20,000 jobs and a workforce ready to deliver a net zero future right across the country with the ability to also export this knowledge elsewhere in the world.
“With COP26 coming to an end it has been made clear the need for CCUS is one that is needed now and cannot be delayed further if we are committed to our aim of reaching net zero by 2045.”
Commenting, Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP Karen Adam said: “Overlooking the Acorn Project has been a political choice by the UK government. Acorn were and continue to be the best placed to take on the largescale carbon capture development.
“I have met with Acorn twice now in the past few weeks and they were so hopeful that their case was the most obvious choice.
"Being overlooked like this is a massive blow to all the work that has gone on.
“The north-east have more than earned the investment needed for the Acorn Project here to help deliver a Just Transition.
"The down turn in oil and gas, Covid and Brexit have devastated our north-east communities, and this would have been a step forward for the UK government making up for their historic abdication of responsibility up here.
“The Scottish government pledged £500 million to support the north-east and Moray in a Just Transition, delivering jobs and investing in the local economy. What is the UK government doing to play their part?”
