Tell the government we can't build a green economy on fossil gas
Labour inherited plans from the previous government for £20 billion funding for carbon capture projects over the next two decades. Under these plans, some of our energy would be supplied by gas burning with carbon capture and storage, and also from 'blue' hydrogen, made by splitting methane and capturing CO2.
Scientists have long warned that these technologies are unproven, and that they risk locking us into continued emissions for decades rather than being genuinely zero carbon. Some leading climate scientists have written to Ed Miliband, calling for a policy rethink. However Labour have just announced that they intend to press ahead.
One of the biggest problems is that gas extraction and processing results in leaks of methane - a powerful short-term greenhouse gas, estimated to be responsible for around 30% of current warming. A global stocktake has just revealed that emissions of methane have been soaring dangerously in recent years.
Maintaining UK gas supply for these projects would depend on increasing imports of liquefied gas shipped from the US and other countries. Most natural gas production in the United States is fracked shale gas, with energy intensive extraction and high methane emissions.
It's not just upstream methane emissions that are under scrutiny. Carbon capture in power generation has a long history of failure and underperformance, while problems have also been experienced with undersea storage.
We are calling on the government to pause these investments, to review the latest evidence on the climate impacts and to consider the risks involved before committing massive public funding.
We need to move away from dependence on fossil fuels. The kind of investment the government is talking about could create many more jobs, at decent pay, if used for a workforce to insulate homes, install heat pumps, improve public transport, and invest in renewable energy - all proven solutions to cut emissions.
Please write to your MP and ask them to call on Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State to pause and rethink before committing funding to these projects based on fossil gas and carbon capture.
