In response to George Monbiot's recent article branding carbon capture and storage (CCS) a 'great con', leading experts have emphasised that the technology is indispensable for tackling the climate crisis. Professor Myles Allen of the University of Oxford, Stephanie Loo of the Carbon Balance Initiative, Toby Lockwood of the Clean Air Task Force, and Olivia Powis, CEO of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association, have collectively argued that physics dictates the need for large-scale carbon dioxide disposal.
The physics of climate change demands CCS
Professor Allen and his co-authors assert that the world will inevitably produce more carbon dioxide than can be safely absorbed by the atmosphere, biosphere, or oceans. They stress that stopping global warming requires capturing and durably storing CO2, typically by injecting it back underground. Monbiot's valid point, they note, is questioning whether public money should forever subsidise carbon disposal while private companies profit from extracting fossil fuels.
Their proposed solution is straightforward: require fossil fuel extractors to pay for disposing of the CO2 their products generate. If the storage fraction rises to 100% by mid-century, fossil fuel use would cause no further warming. They urge the government to use the Jackdaw gasfield licensing as an opportunity, making approval conditional on storing a rising fraction of the gas's CO2. This would make Jackdaw the first producing gasfield aligned with the Paris agreement, addressing a recent Supreme Court ruling.
Independent evidence supports CCUS
Olivia Powis highlights that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), and the International Energy Agency all recognise carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) as essential. For industries like cement—responsible for 8% of global emissions—CCUS is the only viable decarbonisation route.
She refutes claims that CCUS will cost £264 billion, noting that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not recognise this figure. The CCC's seventh carbon budget estimates net zero costs at around 0.2% of UK GDP annually, with private investment leading. CCUS supports a renewables-led electricity system, providing flexible low-carbon generation when wind and solar output is low, and safeguards industries like cement, chemicals, and refining.
Government support and economic benefits
Powis argues that as with any nascent industry, government support is needed to reduce costs and build markets. Demand for low-carbon cement from Europe's first cement plant with CCS and for greenhouse gas removal credits demonstrates market potential. The East Coast Cluster and HyNet CCUS projects are under construction, supporting £4 billion in supply-chain activity, over 300 UK subcontractors, and 5,500 jobs. She calls for a debate grounded in evidence about value for money and delivery.
