A recent policy brief says the United Kingdom needs a “reality check” on its costly plans to use carbon capture and utilization technology (CCUS) to meet national climate targets.
In a new report, authors at Carbon Tracker argue that UK policy-makers relied heavily on inputs from the oil and gas industry to define CCUS’ role in the path to net-zero, with little input from independent experts.
“While we recognize that CCUS can play a role in the UK’s energy transition, we believe that it is time for a reality check,” they write. “The current CCUS strategy needs to be urgently reviewed to address key flaws that risk wasting taxpayers’ money on high-risk, expensive, polluting, and non-futureproof technologies.”
The UK’s 2023 CCUS roadmap considers [pdf] the technology “critical” to achieving net-zero by 2050. The government has allocated more than £21.7 billion (more than C$39 billion) for two major CCUS projects, aiming to capture 8.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, writes Carbon Tracker. This falls far short of the target to capture between 20 to 30 million tonnes annually by 2030, and 50 million tonnes by 2035, eventually creating a self-sustaining CCUS market.
Carbon Tracker identifies two major problems with the strategy. First, it is “overly ambitious” and based on outdated and optimistic cost assumptions. Second, it targets “sectors with high risks of failure, asset stranding, and high-cost premiums.” The UK’s National Audit Office has already reported that the £20 billion allocated in the roadmap may be insufficient to meet the 2030 target, the UK think tank adds.
The Audit Office also said the UK government “does not have and is currently not developing a credible alternative pathway without the use of CCUS.” Carbon Tracker writes that the roadmap itself followed an uptick of lobbying by fossil fuel companies, as revealed by a Guardian investigation.
CCUS has been divisive in climate policy, often promoted by oil and gas companies as a way to curb emissions while extending fossil fuel extraction. Critics argue that it is a false solution, diverting attention away from an urgent transition off fossil fuels.
Now, as governments regulate under the assumption that CCUS works, even some of its original proponents are expressing doubt. In the United States, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey criticized a Supreme Court decision that lets the Environmental Protection Agency mandate 90% emissions capture at gas- and coal-fired plants by 2032, panning CCUS as “technologies that don’t work in the real world.”
And in Canada, a Saskatchewan tribunal expressed doubts about the affordability and efficacy of CCUS to say the proposed federal oil and gas emissions cap would be financially damaging to the province.
Amid mounting skepticism, Carbon Tracker says the UK should reconsider its reliance on CCUS. Independent assessments should play a larger role, and policy-makers should explore alternative strategies, like strengthening carbon markets.
“We urge the government to consistently seek advice on CCUS from independent and diverse organizations rather than continuing the current trend of relying primarily on inputs from the oil and gas industry,” Carbon Tracker urges, “particularly those who we worry are using CCUS investment to justify new oil and gas exploration and production licenxes.”
