Politics: Carbon capture plan is essential to the north-east
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This week I led a debate in the Scottish Parliament on the UK Government’s decision to exclude the Scottish Cluster of CCS (Carbon, Capture and Storage) development from its track-1 programme.
The debate was not about calling for one of the projects announced in the track-1 programme to be axed and replaced with the Scottish Cluster, but about highlighting how the Scottish Cluster programme should also be launched alongside the other two projects now labelled track-1 - the Hynet Cluster in north-west England and the East Coast Cluster in Teesside and the Humber.
The UK Government’s decision to reject the Acorn CCUS for full track one status is hugely disappointing and I believe it shows its lack of ambition and commitment to the north-east of Scotland.
Furthermore, the UK Government’s decision will also compromise our ability to take crucial near-term action to reduce emissions – not just in Scotland but across the UK.
The Scottish Cluster’s Acorn Project is uniquely placed to be the lowest-cost and deliverable opportunity to deploy a full chain CCS project in the UK.
It has the potential to support an average of 15,100 jobs between 2022 and 2050, with a peak of more than 20,000 jobs in 2031.
Prior to the debate, the First Minister wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging him to accelerate the Scottish cluster and move it to track-1 status.
The Scottish Government also reiterated their offer to collaborate with the UK Government in supporting the cluster and stand ready to deliver on this commitment still – despite no response to earlier offers having been received to date.
Earlier this week, Chris Stark, the chief executive of the UK’s Committee on Climate Change (CCC) said: “The Acorn Project is a slam dunk, in my view, for support.”
CCS is seen by experts such as the UK Committee on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency as being vital to achieving Scottish, UK and international climate emissions targets.
The CCC’s 6th Carbon Budget said: “CCS is essential to achieving Net Zero, at lowest cost, in the UK.
"The importance of CCS globally further underscores the urgency of progressing CCS plans in the UK.
”The cluster is expected to contribute more than £1billion per year in GVA (Gross Value Added) between 2021 and 2050.
"If the project was put on to a track-1 timeline rather than being held in reverse, job creation could start as early as next year with the construction phase alone supporting, on average, 7000 jobs.
As we look to move towards a Just Transition these jobs will be hugely important and ensure we retain the highly skilled workforce we have working in oil and gas in the north-east.
Longer-term, the cluster would unlock further economic benefits including safeguarding of UK industrial jobs.
This is demonstrated now in the Grangemouth site alone, which currently supports 2000 direct employees, with around 14,000 indirect jobs.
I would urge the UK Government to rethink this decision, and reverse it, before it is too late to do so.
