Nuclear, hydrogen and carbon capture help UK meet climate targets

The UK government stated on Thursday that “Powering up Britain” will enhance green investment and infrastructure through carbon capture technologies and offshore wind.

Plans for Great British Nuclear and green hydrogen generating projects are prominent.

The UK energy security plan may potentially challenge the US Inflation Reduction Act. Powering up Britain has almost 1,000 pages of energy efficiency and infrastructural initiatives.

Measures include:

• The first carbon capture and storage projects will negotiate expansion into the UK’s “industrial heartlands”.
• A £160 million fund will help port infrastructure projects for floating offshore wind power.
• A £240 million Net-Zero Hydrogen Fund to support the first green hydrogen generating plants.
• Great British Nuclear to encourage nuclear sector expansion.
• Accelerating planning to attract investment for wind and solar projects.
• Changing the name of the ECO+ program to the Great British Insulation Scheme.
• Increasing UK EV charging outlets and infrastructure by around £380 million to assist electric vehicle adoption.
• Providing UK Export Finance with an extra £10 billion capacity to enhance exports, including from the UK’s world-leading clean growth sectors.
• Creating a stable climate for businesses to invest and expand in electric vehicles and sustainable aviation fuel.

However, Friends of the Earth called several announcements “lacklustre,” arguing that ministers missed the opportunity to develop a more radical green industrial policy.

Although the High Court determined last July that the government’s net-zero strategy was inadequate, Powering up Britain includes a revised plan to meet climate commitments. Friends of the Earth could sue again for more net-zero government detail.

Some applauded the government’s initiative to integrate its environmental, net-zero, affordability, energy security, and economic growth policies.

Scientists, environmentalists, and green entrepreneurs expected programs to attract investment like the US Inflation Reduction Act and the EU’s Green Industrial Strategy.

The IRA provides $369 billion for climate-related expenditures and clean-energy tax credits, but some say its subsidies, notably for auto part producers, are protectionist.

“No removal of the onshore wind ban which is costing families hundreds of pounds on bills, no new investment for energy efficiency which could cut bills and imports, no response to the Inflation Reduction Act which could help Britain win the global race for clean energy jobs,” said shadow climate and net-zero secretary Ed Miliband.

The UK Office for National Statistics provided provisional data on territorial greenhouse gas emissions, which declined by 2.2% last year. Annual ONS statistics measure UK emissions from households, businesses, transport, energy generators, and agriculture.

Due to rising energy prices and warmer average temperatures in 2022, households used less heating, reducing CO2 emissions by 2.4%.

Just post-Covid shutdown traffic increased CO2 emissions by 4%. Transport emissions were lower than five years before the outbreak. The ONS reports a 48% drop in GHG emissions from 650 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 1990 to 417 million in 2022.

This is mostly because renewables and gas have replaced coal in the energy mix. According to Imperial College London, renewables produced 40% of UK electricity last year, up from 35% in 2021.