Sir Keir Starmer has announced a plan to invest £22 billion into carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, a move expected to create 4,000 jobs and revitalize the UK’s industrial heartlands.
During a visit to Liverpool, the Labour leader announced two new “carbon capture clusters” to be developed in Merseyside and Teesside over the next 25 years.
The Labour Party projects that this initiative will support 50,000 jobs in the long run in addition to the immediate job creation. These jobs will primarily emerge from the development of the infrastructure needed for capturing and storing carbon emissions produced by the energy, industrial, and hydrogen sectors.
Starmer framed the investment as part of a broader effort to provide stability to businesses and industries. “For the past 14 years, business has been second-guessing a dysfunctional government – which has set us back and caused an economic slump,” Starmer said.
“Today’s announcement will give industry the certainty it needs – committing to 25 years of funding in this groundbreaking technology – to help deliver jobs, kickstart growth, and repair this country once and for all.”
Keir Starmer
Labour Pledges 25 Years of Support
This ambitious plan is set to unlock £21.7 billion in subsidies over the next quarter-century, with a focus on key industrial hubs. The goal is to remove 8.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year, with the first carbon dioxide storage operations expected to begin by 2028.
The plan targets sectors such as hydrogen, gas power, and waste-to-energy, which will benefit from a combination of carbon capture technology and infrastructure.
Carbon capture and storage works by trapping emissions from burning fossil fuels or industrial processes and storing them permanently underground, often in disused oil fields beneath the sea.
The technology has long been recognized as essential in the global fight against climate change by organizations like the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC).
The captured carbon can also play a role in producing “blue hydrogen,” a low-carbon energy source derived from natural gas. While this is a step toward greener energy, environmentalists have expressed concern that reliance on blue hydrogen could prolong the dependence on fossil fuels.
Despite its potential, CCS technology has made little headway in the UK since it was first championed by Ed Miliband in 2009, under the last Labour government. The promise of CCS remains largely unrealized, and progress has been painfully slow due to underfunding and policy inconsistencies. This new commitment aims to reverse that trend.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves echoed Starmer’s sentiments, emphasizing the economic and environmental potential of the investment.
“This game-changing technology will bring 4,000 good jobs and billions of private investment into communities across Merseyside and Teesside, igniting growth in these industrial heartlands and powering up the rest of the country.”
Rachel Reeves
A New Era for UK Energy
The timing of this announcement is symbolic, arriving just days after Britain became the first industrialized nation to officially end coal production, closing a chapter on 150 years of coal-powered energy.
Ed Miliband, now Energy and Security Secretary, reflected on the significance of this transition.
“On Monday, 150 years of coal in this country came to an end. Today, a new era begins. I was proud to kickstart the industry in 2009, and I am even prouder today to turn it into reality.”
Ed Miliband
While the move has been largely welcomed by businesses in the industrial and energy sectors, it has also faced criticism from environmental groups.
Greenpeace, for instance, has warned that the government’s support for gas-based hydrogen could undermine long-term efforts to move away from fossil fuels entirely. The environmental organization expressed concerns that this approach risks “locking ourselves into second-rate solutions.”
Nonetheless, independent advisors such as the Climate Change Committee have praised the government’s commitment, describing it as “very reassuring” in the context of the UK’s overall climate strategy.
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