Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 22
22
Accepted
No BECCS projects in Track 1 despite importance for unachievable 2030 greenhouse gas removal targets
Recommendation
The original 2030 targets for the CCUS programme, which the government has now told us are unachievable, included a goal for the UK to achieve 5 mtpa of engineered greenhouse gas removals. The bulk of this was expected to be achieved by applying CCUS technology to a biomass energy plant (a process known as BECCS).72 There are no BECCS projects included in Track 1, but the Department told us that it remained under consideration for its future plans.73 Ofgem administers the existing government support for large biomass generators, including overseeing an assurance regime intended to ensure that they only burn sustainably sourced biomass.74 However, an Ofgem investigation into Drax, which had received £6.5 billion in public funding between 2002 and 2023 and is by far the largest biomass plant in the country, found in August 2024 that there was an absence of adequate data governance and controls in place that had contributed to, amongst other things, to Drax being unable to support the reliability of its profiling data reporting of forestry type and sawlogs for Canadian consignments.75 Earlier in 2024, a National Audit Office report on the government’s support for biomass concluded, more broadly, that the government could not demonstrate that its current arrangements were adequate to give it confidence industry was meeting sustainability requirements.76 If not all of the materials used were meeting the government’s own sustainability standards this would be unacceptable. We also received written evidence suggesting that the application of carbon capture technology to biomass power generation is effectively untested on a commercial scale, as all real–world experience to date has been on coal–fired stations, which are substantively different.77 We also note the issues caused by international accounting principles for carbon emissions. If materials are exported from another country, it is that country that has to report the emissions. The absurdity of this is if the UK sou
Government Response Summary
The government agreed that any future support for BECCS will be accompanied by monitoring arrangements that provide real assurance that industry is meeting sustainability criteria, which will build on existing sustainability criteria for biomass, with target implementation in Summer 2025. The department plans to consult later this year on the development of a common biomass sustainability framework. An independent review will consider how Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGRs) can assist the UK in meeting the government’s net zero targets and ensuring security of supply, out to 2050.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4b. PAC recommendation: … the Department and HM Treasury should also make sure any future support for BECCS is accompanied by monitoring arrangements that provide real assurance that industry is meeting sustainability criteria. 4.6 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2025 4.7 Biomass sustainability criteria will be developed which must be adhered to as part of any future support for BECCS. These criteria will build on existing sustainability criteria for biomass and include associated monitoring, reporting and verification arrangements. The department plans to consult later this year on the development of a common biomass sustainability framework to ensure greater consistency between sectors and strengthen the criteria in line with latest evidence. In addition, in September 2024, the government commissioned the British Standards Institution to develop engineered Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) methodologies, including one covering BECCS. An initial version is due to be published mid-2025. 4.8 Separately, an independent review will consider how Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGRs), including large-scale Power BECCS, can assist the UK in meeting the government’s net zero targets and ensuring security of supply, out to 2050. Further details of the review will be made public in due course.