A multi-billion pound ‘net zero’ project backed by two of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies will emit more than 20 million tonnes of global warming carbon over its lifetime, according to findings submitted to the UK government. It is said that it will become.
The Net Zero Teesside scheme to build a new gas-fired power station in north-east England is backed by BP and Equinor and will use carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to generate up to 95% of emissions. The plan is to collect and bury the waste. The seabed of the North Sea.
However, evidence submitted to the government shows that even if the project’s claims about carbon capture and storage facilities are proven accurate, gas power plants will still contribute more than 20 million tonnes of carbon pollution over their lifetime. You will be responsible.
Energy analyst Andrew Boswell, who carried out the research based on Net Zero Teesside’s own figures, said: “If a project generates more than 20 million tonnes of carbon pollution, calling it ‘net zero’ is completely wrong and misleading.”
Boswell estimated that emissions from the power plant would exceed 20.3 million after accounting for “upstream emissions” associated with the project, such as extracting, refining and transporting gas, including liquefied natural gas from the United States, and methane emissions. . tons of carbon pollution.
The project was given the go-ahead by Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho in February, despite Mr Boswell’s calculations being accepted as correct.
Ministry of Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson The government’s climate change advisers did not dispute the figures, but defended the plan, saying CCS was “not an option but a must”. “Power plants equipped with these facilities will provide a stable energy supply, independent of the weather, with low emissions. This will support a secure and predominantly renewable energy-based energy system in 2050. It is essential to do so.”
They added that the government’s £20bn investment in carbon capture and storage will boost economic growth and support up to 50,000 jobs.
Mr Boswell, supported by environmental businessman Dale Vince, is taking the government to court seeking a judicial review of the decision, which the government says is contrary to its commitments to tackle climate change. claims.
Vince said: “This is a bogus net-zero project by two of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies. How on earth are we going to reduce 20 million tons of air pollution to net zero? This project is allowed to proceed.” It shouldn’t have happened, and we support a legal challenge to this fossil fuel deception.”
Apart from upstream emissions, scientists are also skeptical about the efficiency of the carbon capture technology at the heart of the Teesside project’s emissions calculations. This process aims to capture emissions and bury them underground rather than releasing them into the atmosphere.
A spokesperson for the Net Zero Teesside project said the project would help meet the UK Government’s net zero targets by capturing significant amounts of carbon.2 emissions. They said more than 40 of his CCS facilities are in operation around the world. “National policy is clear that a key element of the transition to a low-carbon economy is to phase out unabated gas generation through the introduction of gas-fired power generation using CCS.”
This month, the government’s climate plans were ruled illegal in the High Court, with judges ruling that the government’s proposed measures would not meet the UK’s climate targets.
Mike Childs, policy director at Friends of the Earth, said: “Claims that CCS will capture 95% of this power plant’s emissions are wildly optimistic…The High Court has found the government’s climate change plan illegal and ruled it must be produced.”Target Something new along the lines of. It is fanciful to believe that gas-fired power plants with CCS are compatible with fit-for-purpose carbon reduction strategies. ”
