Campaigners Urge UK Chancellor to Cut £24bn Carbon Capture Budget

By Daniel Okafor

The UK government has earmarked £24bn for carbon capture and storage projects — more than the planned spending of the US, the EU, Norway and Japan combined. Campaigners led by the naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham want the chancellor to cut that figure in this week's budget and redirect the money to green schemes that cut emissions and lower energy bills.

Packham called the technology a failure in waiting. "CCS is a tech fairytale," he said. "It should be a national embarrassment that the UK is pumping more taxpayer money into it than any other country in the world. This budget is a chance to put things right."

Who is getting the money?

The £24bn supports a series of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects developed by big oil companies, including BP and the Norwegian state oil company Equinor. The technology traps emissions from fossil fuel infrastructure before they reach the atmosphere. Proponents argue that piping carbon dioxide into underground storage offers a permanent climate fix for industries that cannot replace fossil fuels with cleaner alternatives.

The record is mixed. Some projects have worked. Many high-cost schemes have stalled, and carbon savings have often fallen far below expectations. Green groups fear fossil fuel companies promote the technology to prolong the use of fossil fuels.

What does the timing tell us?

The intervention comes as the government reportedly plans to reduce grants for households swapping gas boilers for electric heat pumps. That shift matters because heating buildings accounts for roughly a fifth of UK greenhouse gas emissions. Packham urged ministers to protect funding promises "that empower households to lower bills" rather than "bankrolling exorbitantly expensive projects with ludicrously uncertain results".

He warned that failing to rein in CCS spending "would be yet another strong signal that this government is putting big oil above people and the planet".

Aled Dilwyn Fisher, a senior researcher at Oil Change International, framed the choice as a budget priority. "It's worrying that spending on climate is being cut in favour of defence, but cutting support for proven climate solutions while continuing to bankroll unreliable carbon capture projects would add insult to injury," he said. "This budget should be an opportunity to put public money where it can make a real difference to the climate and help cut people's energy bills, rather than continuing to gamble billions on the fossil fuel industry's latest expansion plan."

Where are the projects?

Work has already begun on the UK's first CCS projects at two sites:

• The East Coast Cluster near Teesside and Humberside, in north-east England
• The HyNet Cluster near Merseyside and north Wales, in north-west England

The second phase of the government's support plan includes £200m for the Acorn project in Aberdeenshire, plus £80m from the Scottish government.

Rosie Hampton, a campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said over the summer that the government's climate response rested on "fantasy plans about turning the North Sea into Europe's carbon dumping ground". Politicians should focus on "climate solutions that will improve people's lives, such as warm homes, better public transport and decent green jobs", she said.

What does the industry say?

The Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) defends the programme with its own numbers. The UK's first projects have already awarded more than £4bn in supply-chain contracts, which could support about 350 UK companies and 5,500 construction jobs.

"Pulling back now would undermine investor confidence, risk leaving infrastructure underused and deepen industrial decline," said Mark Sommerfeld, the CCSA's UK director. "This budget must honour existing commitments, turning today's progress into lasting growth, energy security and reindustrialisation."

The government itself has signalled flexibility. Martin McCluskey, parliamentary undersecretary at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, told an industry event this month that the government remains committed to carbon capture, but fiscal pressures may force decisions on the pace of the industry's development. The government has been contacted for comment.

The budget will show which side wins the argument — and whether £24bn stays with big oil's CCS ventures or moves toward heat pumps and household retrofits.