Key facts
- Campaigners want the government to cut £24 billion in planned spending on carbon capture.
- Chris Packham described carbon capture as a "tech fairytale" with "ludicrously uncertain results."
- The UK's first CCS projects are underway at the East Coast Cluster and HyNet Cluster.
- The Acorn Project in Aberdeenshire is set to receive £200 million from the UK government.
- UK CCS projects have awarded over £4 billion in supply chain contracts.
Campaigners are urging the UK chancellor to cut the government's £24 billion spending on carbon capture technologies, arguing it is an "exorbitantly expensive" "fairytale" with uncertain results. Broadcaster Chris Packham is leading the appeal, suggesting the funds would be better used for green schemes that can reliably cut emissions and lower energy bills. The intervention comes as the government reportedly plans to reduce grants for households switching to electric heat pumps. Proponents of carbon capture believe it can provide a permanent climate solution for industries unable to transition away from fossil fuels, but critics fear it prolongs the use of fossil fuels. Work on the UK's first CCS projects has begun at the East Coast Cluster and HyNet Cluster, with the Acorn Project in Aberdeenshire set to receive £200 million.