Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Acknowledged
Climate Change Committee deems CCUS essential for UK net zero targets, with ambitious 2030 goals
Conclusion
The Department began developing its current approach to CCUS in 2018, following two previous failures.58 The Climate Change Committee, which advises government on how best to meet its decarbonisation goals, considers CCUS to be essential for the UK to meet its legally binding climate ambitions, in Carbon Budget 6 (which covers 2033–37) and to achieve net zero by 2050.59 In October 2021, the Department set its ambitions for the CCUS programme based on its own assessment of how to meet these goals: to have two carbon capture clusters operational by the mid–2020s and four operational by 2030; for these clusters to capture 20–30 mtpa of carbon by 2030; to have at least one power station with CCUS running by 2030; and to capture at least 5 mtpa of carbon through engineered greenhouse gas removals by 2030.60
Government Response Summary
The government provides background information on CCUS technologies and the UK's approach to achieving net zero, but doesn't directly address the specific ambitions for the CCUS programme mentioned in the conclusion.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
Introduction from the Committee Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) technologies capture carbon before it is released into the atmosphere and store it permanently underground. They can be applied to a range of industrial applications, such as power generation and cement production. The government sees CCUS as essential to the UK achieving net zero by 2050. Previous governments have attempted to launch CCUS in the UK twice before, but these projects were cancelled in 2011 and 2016. The current approach, launched in 2018, aims to establish CCUS in geographical clusters. The government set a target of capturing and storing 20–30 million tonnes of carbon per year by 2030. In December 2024, it concluded that this target was not achievable. It has not yet set revised goals. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (the Department) is responsible for the CCUS programme. In October 2021, it announced that the first two clusters to receive government support (Track 1) would be HyNet, covering Merseyside and north Wales, and East Coast, covering Teesside and Humberside. HM Treasury announced up to £20.0 billion of funding in March 2023 to support the early deployment of CCUS. In October 2024 it increased the funding to £21.7 billion over 25 years to cover the first five projects. At the same time, the Department recognized contingent liabilities with a maximum value of £34 billion to cover the risks it is underwriting for the programme. In December 2024, the Department announced it had signed contracts with the first two projects at East Coast Cluster which it expects to begin operations in 2028.