Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 24
24
Deferred
Initial BECCS plant target of 2030 will not be met, future support unclear.
Conclusion
The government had initially planned for BECCS plant to begin operating at scale in 2030 as part of its broader CCUS programme.68 However, as the first phase of the CCUS programme (known as Track 1) does not include a BECCS plant, this target date will not how be achieved.69 DESNZ has not set a revised target date and it is not clear whether a BECCS plant will be supported in a later phase of the CCUS programme.70
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the lack of a revised target date for BECCS and states that a forthcoming report, compliant with a High Court Order and the Climate Change Act 2008, will address policies and proposals to meet carbon budgets. They have also commissioned an Independent Review of Greenhouse Gas Removals to consider how BECCS can assist in meeting net zero targets.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2025 4.2 The department’s analysis suggests power BECCS technologies are part of a cost- effective pathway to meeting the UK’s climate change targets. Greenhouse Gas Removal technologies (GGRs) like BECCS can support net zero targets by delivering negative carbon emissions and producing low-carbon electricity, hydrogen, or fuels. 4.3 The department will publish a report setting out its plan to meet carbon budgets, in compliance with the High Court’s Court Order and Section 14 of the Climate Change Act 2008, in due course. The plan will set out the policies and proposals needed to meet Carbon Budgets 4-6 and the government’s Nationally Determined Contributions, on the pathway to net zero by 2050. 4.4 The Secretary of State has commissioned an Independent Review of Greenhouse Gas Removals, led by Dr Alan Whitehead, which will consider how GGRs including BECCS can assist the UK in meeting the government’s net zero targets. The review is not centred on any particular project and will consider all GGRs, with a focus on engineered GGR approaches, which includes those that are reliant on the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) transport and storage network, as well as those engineered approaches that are not.