Energy Minister “risks repeating the mistakes” on carbon capture hype

Climate campaigners have warned that Scotland’s new Energy Minister ‘risks repeating the mistakes’ of previous Ministers with his backing of unproven carbon capture technology.

The warning comes as the Minister Stephen Gethins is to give the keynote address at an industry conference on carbon capture and hydrogen in Edinburgh (2/6/26) which is sponsored by fossil gas company Spirit Energy.

Climate campaigners have repeatedly criticised the Scottish Government’s over-reliance on the role carbon capture within its plans to cut climate pollution. This is despite there not being any working carbon capture and storage plants within Scotland.

Scotland’s highest profile carbon capture scheme, the Acorn Project, is still on the drawing board with repeated missed deadlines, and the lead developer Storegga selling off its stake in the project.

The UK Government had pledged £200million in subsidy to the Acorn Project and the Scottish Government promised over £80million in supposedly scarce public money.

Friends of the Earth Scotland oil and gas campaigns manager Rosie Hampton commented,

“Stephen Gethins risks repeating the mistakes of his predecessors by falling for the oil industry’s lobbying and hype around carbon capture.  This technology has decades of global failures, blowing through budgets and constantly missing deadlines.

“Ministers are shoveling millions towards the flailing Acorn project and have built their entire climate plan on the rotten foundations of dodgy carbon capture. These companies have fantasy plans about turning the North Sea into Europe’s carbon dumping ground.”

“Scottish politicians should instead be focused on climate solutions that will improve people’s lives such as warm homes, better public transport and decent green jobs.”