UK carbon capture firms could lose out

UK specialists are lagging behind the rest of the world in the multi-billion carbon capture and storage market and could lose out on lucrative contracts.

Leaders of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) are now calling on the government to provide guidance on how the UK will meet its ambitious carbon emission targets by 2050.

The process of capturing carbon emission during the power generation process has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by between 80% and 90%, and has been identified as playing a key role in meeting the UK's looming emissions targets.

But progress has stalled in recent years, with continued uncertainty about how schemes will be funded and lack of a coherent regulatory framework.

ICE vice president Geoff French said: "The UK was quick on the uptake in the global race to deploy CCS, but now we have fallen behind other nations. If we want to keep a competitive lead and take advantage of the export opportunity it presents, progress needs to be greatly accelerated.

"We have the skills and the expertise to deliver global solutions - all we're waiting on is government to take the lead and provide the steps to get us there. In the current climate there is no incentive for utility providers to sink billions of pounds into projects that have no certain future."