Restrict any use of negative emissions technologies (NETS) to the most hard to decarbonise heavy industry and ensure any inclusion of these is backed by a credible, science-based delivery plan
Most NETs rely on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and this is unproven at the scale needed and unlikely to be up and running in any significant capacity before the 2030s. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ranked CCS as among the least effective and most expensive ways to meet 2030 climate targets, and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis’s research shows that no CCS project in the world has managed a capture rate of more than 80 percent, with many capturing much less, and that some £408 billion will be required by 2050 to install and operate CCS infrastructure in the UK.
The current Scottish Government’s own feasibility study highlights the significant uncertainties and lower than expected impact compared to ambition, reflecting wider clear historic failures of delivering impactful CCS projects. Since NETs are unlikely to make any meaningful contribution to emissions reductions during the next Climate Change Plan period, the next Scottish Government must prioritise actions that fairly reduce emissions and deliver tangible benefits to people’s lives over unproven, unaffordable techno-fixes.
For more information:
- Carbon capture factsheet: The true cost of funding failure, Friends of the Earth Scotland, 2024