The recent carbon capture investment has come under particular scrutiny from Friends of the Earth Liverpool campaigners.
There are worries that this costly project could be spent on finding other alternatives without relying on fossil fuels still.
Don Naylor, member of Liverpool Friends of Earth (FoE), voiced his concerns on the project: “A lot of us believe that the more forward way of thinking and true solution would be to help those industries decarbonise.
“For example switch to electricity more than burning gases, and we don’t feel as though that’s been encouraged enough.”
There is also the question of how safe actually is it to be storing this carbon under the seabed.
Don added: “Future generations need to be confident that if this is shoved there it basically needs to stay there forever, doesn’t it? Otherwise you’ve still got a climate problem if the carbon dioxide leaks back into the atmosphere.”
“There’s no evidence to be confident that it will stay there forever and this has only been tested in the last few decades so that’s an issue.”
The announcement also stated an extra 4000 jobs will be possible with the scheme. This is essential for the UK’s worrying job market at the moment.
Yet, the FoE Liverpool campaigner also questions the longevity of these job opportunities.
He said: “It’s understandable that for politicians its a big priority to create these new jobs. So if these big companies have come along and given this number then superficially that is good news but they never give much detail about these jobs. How well paid are they? How secure and long term are they?”
It was announced that the UK government would be investing £21.7 billion into carbon capture and storage technology (CCS) within Merseyside and Teesside last week.
The focus on reversing climate change has had to lead to quick thinking from the new Labour leaders. The aim is for CO2 to be ‘captured’ and ‘stored’ under Liverpool Bay.
Liverpool has played a big role in climate action, receiving the title of the world’s first ‘accelerator city’ due to their efforts in decarbonising the live entertainment sector.
Head back to our website to keep up to date on the latest climate change news in and around Merseyside.
Featured photo (c) Willi Heidelbach.
