Billpayers face £800 hit from Miliband's carbon capture gamble
A damning report from the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the technology had never been tested, was likely to prove very expensive and may not work.
Mr Miliband, the Energy Secretary, has said the UK can only reach net zero by deploying carbon capture and storage (CCS), where CO2 from power stations and factories is captured and buried underground.
The Government has committed to investing £22bn into the technology, most of which will be loaded on to consumer bills and cost the equivalent of £800 per UK household.
MPs said Mr Miliband had not properly investigated whether the technology was affordable and raised the alarm about the viability of the technology.
The PAC report said: 'The Government's backing of unproven, first-of-a-kind technology to reach net zero is high risk.
'We are calling on the Government to assess whether its full carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) programme will be affordable for taxpayers and consumers, given wider pressures on energy bills and the cost of living.'
The report, based on evidence from multiple experts, points to growing doubts over whether the technology can ever be viable.
It said: 'There are no examples of CCS technology operating at a commercial scale in the UK, meaning the performance of early projects is uncertain.
'Evidence submitted raises concerns that CCS may not capture as much carbon as expected and experience from Norway suggests that performance on the scale expected by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is far from guaranteed.'
It added: 'The costs of the CCUS programme are significant: in November 2024 the Government announced £21.7bn of funding over 25 years to cover only the first five CCUS projects.'
Schemes under way include Hynet, designed to capture CO2 from industries in Northwest England and North Wales and pipe it into depleted gas fields in Liverpool Bay; the East Coast Cluster in Teesside and the Humber; and the Acorn project in north-east Scotland.
The report said: 'The Department [of Energy Security and Net Zero] has not indicated the likely cost of these projects. The Department and HM Treasury expect that around 75pc of the cost of supporting these early projects will be met by levies on consumers who are already facing significant financial pressures, with the remainder funded by the Exchequer.'
Responding to the report, Richard Tice, energy spokesman for the Reform Party, said: 'This is another cost threatening to impoverish the UK for a technology that will not work.'
Mr Miliband launched the UK's carbon capture programme last October, with direct support from Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
In a joint statement they said the technology would 'create 4,000 new jobs, sustain important British industry, and help remove over 8.5m tonnes of carbon emissions each year – the equivalent of taking around 4m cars off the road'.
Ms Reeves said carbon capture was 'at the heart of our plan to deliver strong growth and investment, so we can rebuild Britain and make everyone better off'.
Carbon capture forms a key part of Mr Miliband's plans to decarbonise Britain's power system by 2030. It will be relied on to strip up to 30m tonnes of CO2 from UK emissions each year by 2030 – and more than 100m tonnes by 2050.
Ministers hope the technology can 'green' power stations and energy-intensive industries that still burn fossil fuels or wood.
Emissions are passed through a process that strips out waste CO2. This is then compressed into a liquid and pumped deep underground for permanent storage, eventually reacting with and becoming part of the surrounding rocks.
In practice, however, no one has succeeded in developing a full-scale operating carbon capture system, partly because of engineering problems but also because of the huge costs.
Scientists estimate that capturing and burying the CO2 generated by a typical gas-fired power station could absorb 20pc of its energy production.
A separate report by the National Audit Office raised similar concerns about the technology last year. It said: 'There is a particular risk associated with the technology being unproven at the scale being planned, and with dependence on specialist expertise and equipment.
'For example, one of the UK emitter projects is planning to build a gas-fired power station with carbon capture, but this would be 40 times larger than any existing examples globally.'
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero was asked for its response.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Fraudsters are targeting Canadians by text. Here's how to spot a smishing scam
Canadians are being urged to think twice before clicking links in text messages as smishing scams become more sophisticated. Smishing is a type of fraud in which scammers send text messages posing as businesses, government agencies or even people you know. These texts aim to trick Canadians into opening malicious links or revealing information such as passwords or credit card numbers, with the ultimate goal of stealing personal data and money. Scammers are becoming more sophisticated and they know that the quickest way to reach people is through their phones, particularly by text message, says Josephine Palumbo, deputy commissioner of the deceptive marketing practices branch at the Competition Bureau. Over the course of 2025, several federal and policing bodies, including the Competition Bureau, have issued warnings to Canadians that scammers may be targeting them via text messaging. How smishing attempts are changing These fraudsters are leveraging artificial intelligence to target victims, Palumbo says. AI can mimic the style and language of a specific person, making the messages especially convincing and confusing for Canadians. Fraudsters are also becoming harder to catch because they use prepaid SIM cards to shield their identities, she adds. Sam-Pajot Phipps, CEO and co-founder of goConfirm, an identity verification platform, says he's seeing more smishing attempts tied to traffic, speeding and parking tickets, often with links to 'pay a fine.' Other common scams include fake job applications or impersonations of subscription services like Netflix or Amazon, claiming there has been a log-in attempt and asking recipients to verify their credentials. Some messages are even more subtle, simply saying, 'Hey, how are you?' or 'Is this Julie? (or some other name)' These are tactics to test whether a number is active and worth targeting again in the future, Phipps says. If recipients engage, the conversation can eventually lead to a request for money or personal information. Many texts use short codes, which are five- or six-digit numbers instead of the usual 10-digit phone number, he adds. While these short codes are legitimately used by trusted services, scammers can sometimes gain access to them, making their messages harder to detect as fraudulent. Fraudsters also 'lean into that urgency on text messages to get people's attention,' Phipps says. For example, a text may say that a fine or bill needs to be paid within 24 hours. We're too trusting by Corvese, senior manager for digital forensics and incident response, Doane Grant Thornton Canadians need to be more alert and suspicious, says Stephanie Corvese, senior manager for digital forensics and incident response at Doane Grant Thornton. 'We're too trusting by nature,' she said. 'The advice I always give to everyone is don't be trusting anymore.' What to do if you get a suspicious text Pause before taking any action when you receive a message requesting it, Corvese says. If you google the phone number or message content, you'll often find that the number texting isn't associated with the organization it claims to be, and there may be subtle errors in the email address, if one is provided, she adds. If you receive a suspicious text message, remember that most legitimate organizations will never ask you to reveal personal information through email or text, Palumbo says. If you're unsure, contact the sender using a different, verified method. Palumbo advises Canadians to avoid clicking on any suspicious links. If something doesn't look right, don't click on it, she says. And, if you suspect a smishing attempt, don't reply. This includes ignoring texts that ask you to respond with 'STOP' or 'NO.' Instead, block the number and delete the message. Users can also report spam texts by forwarding them to 7726 (SPAM), which helps cellular providers investigate further. "Remember that knowledge is the best shield to protect yourself, your family, and your friends from fraud of this kind,' Palumbo said.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Argentina Faces Massive Debt Rollover Amid Currency Pressures
Javier Milei's government faces a key test on Wednesday as it tries to roll over 15 trillion pesos ($11.3 billion) of local currency debt representing about third of all the money in circulation in Argentina's economy. Yields on short-term government notes soared to a record 65% earlier this week ahead of the auction — a reflection of a liquidity crunch in the local financial system after the central bank raised reserve requirements in a bid to contain inflation and ease pressure on the currency.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Rakuten Bank to Refrain From JGB Buying as More Rate Hikes Seen
Rakuten Bank Ltd. will likely hold back from actively buying Japanese government bonds until the central bank raises interest rates again, in the latest sign that an uncertain policy outlook is weighing on investor sentiment. The lender, a unit of Japan's e-commerce giant Rakuten Group Inc., has seen its total deposits almost triple from five years ago to ¥11.7 trillion ($79 billion) at the end of June, as its online banking services attract more customers. While the deposits are dwarfed by those of Japan's biggest lenders, Rakuten Bank's fast-growing cash pool is pushing it to look for investments.
