Carbon capture sell-off “huge embarrassment” for Government

Climate campaigners have said the announcement that Storegga, the lead partner of the Acorn carbon capture project, is pulling out is a “huge embarrassment” to the Scottish Government and their political “gamble” with this technology will not pay off.

The UK Government recently pledged £200million to the scheme and the Scottish Government promised over £80million to the flailing Acorn project.

Carbon capture projects around the world have been beset by decades of failures and delays, with the world’s largest carbon capture project in Australia recently revealed to be capturing just 2.66% of the emissions it produces.

Scottish Ministers have been urged to reject plans for a Peterhead gas burning power station which would be entirely reliant on the Acorn Project.

Friends of the Earth Scotland senior climate campaigner Alex Lee (they/them),

“Storegga’s exit is a clear sign that even the biggest champions of carbon capture have seen the technology doesn’t make economic sense and are washing their hands of it.

“This is a huge embarrassment for both the UK and Scottish Governments, who have staked their climate credibility on CCS and promised £280 million of supposedly scarce public money into a technology that has repeatedly been proven to fail.”

“If the Acorn project’s number one cheerleader now doesn’t see it as a safe bet, it shows just how reckless the Scottish Government’s latest Climate Change Plan has become. Scottish Ministers has gambled big on carbon capture to deliver future emissions cuts despite the overwhelming evidence it won’t work. With its biggest backer walking away, it’s clear the gamble won’t pay off, and the government must end its overreliance on CCS as a matter of urgency.”

“With the proposed new Peterhead gas station – the supposed crown jewel of the Acorn project – now in deeper disarray, the message could not be clearer, the project has no future and Ministers must reject it. We need focus and investment in climate solutions that we know will work today and improve people’s lives, upgrading public transport, insulating homes and creating green jobs in credible industries with a secure future.”