Fears over region’s omission from carbon capture and storage strategy

Business leaders have called for a rethink of the Government’s bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) strategy, fearing their region will miss out on £15bn worth of investment.

The Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce has sent a joint letter to the Secretary of State for Energy, Grant Shapps, alongside local council leaders, expressing strong concern over the omission of the Humber in the Government’s latest BECCS announcements.

The chamber says it is concerned there is now a “serious risk” that the £15bn worth of investment which was planned for the Humber’s Carbon Zero agenda may now be spent elsewhere, leaving the Humber – which it says should be leading the world on the carbon capture and storage agenda – “adrift.”

The chamber says it hopes there will be further Government announcements shortly on Humber Carbon Capture proposals which were submitted to Government by leading chamber members such as Equinor and Phillips 66.

Chamber external affairs director, David Hooper, said: “The shock that the Humber missed out completely in these announcements is palpable among the region’s business leaders and puts the Humber’s leading role on this agenda in serious peril.

“The chamber’s view is that the UK should go green through the Humber, and the country cannot go green without the Humber.

“We urge Energy Secretary Grant Shapps to reconsider the Government’s stance on the Humber proposals and do the right thing by advancing these largely privately funded schemes which are ready to go.”