The cancellation of the UK’s £1 billion carbon capture and storage (CCS) competition was more whimper than bang.
Although chancellor George Osborne was happy to talk tough on reducing the deficit in his late November spending review, scrapping CCS was whispered to the stock market later in the day less than a week before the Paris climate talks.
And the subsequent newspaper column inches may explain why. “Devastating.” “Moving the goal posts.” “Extremely disappointing.”
It’s not a move that was well received, but there is no doubt that a quiet stronghold in the market is really quite glad.
It’s never welcome news when the government pulls the rug out from under private investors who have spent years investigating an innovation. But that’s the point. The progress of CCS has been glacial, and for the sums of money required to drive the technology forward countless cheaper decarbonisation systems could be adopted.
A fraction of the money saved will be redirected to district heating, for example. For £300 million, 200 heat networks and billions in private investment could come forward to promote an area with huge growth potential and benefits. It taps into innovation and decarbonisation while helping customers stay warm and reduce bills.
District heating is also proven at scale, unlike CCS.
Osborne may have sheepishly pushed this spending cut through, but there’ll be no complaints here or from the customers this move will help.