Planning and Infrastructure Bill

Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 25th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke (Lab)]

My Lords, I am the chair of Annington, a housing company that specialises in affordable homes, but I will not talk about that because, for many years now, I have been the honorary president of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association, which also includes utilisation. Frankly, I never thought the day would come when a Government would put CCUS at the heart of such a significant piece of legislation, so I want to say thank you.

The Bill has the potential to turn our net-zero ambitions into real-world jobs, investment and long-term economic renewal. The Climate Change Committee has acknowledged that there is no credible path to net zero without carbon capture and storage. The confirmation of funding for HyNet and the East Coast Cluster build-out, alongside the support for Acorn and Viking to reach final investment decisions in this Parliament, has put a spring in my step—noble Lords can probably tell from my accent which one gives me the biggest spring in my step. The recent financial close for net-zero Teesside and Liverpool Bay CCS further highlights the momentum, but risk still remains: inconsistent planning frameworks that are crying out for updating could threaten delay or even derail progress, right at the time when we need to accelerate.

For those of us, like me, brought up in the heartlands of coal, iron and steel, and shipbuilding, this is not just a climate solution. The opportunity analysis by the CCSA points to 50,000 skilled jobs and almost £90 billion in economic value by 2050. That should not be sneezed at. Add to that the potential for large-scale CO₂ storage and industrial decarbonisation.

Traditional industries, such as coal, iron and steel, and shipbuilding, can reform into clean energy industries. That means a lot to the kind of communities that I used to represent in the other place. The same skill sets are required for carbon capture and storage, but the planning must reflect the national role of CCUS infrastructure, even if it is only for short distances.

I know that there is a possibility of some pretty minor amendments that can have a great impact on the future of carbon capture, utilisation and storage. Reforming current guidelines, such as those in the Pipe-Lines Act 1962, can streamline the consenting process for CO₂ pipelines, and that kind of modernisation will allow us to keep with partners such as Norway, which is already planning cross-border CO₂ transport. Norway has been very much in the lead with a lot of this technology, and it is worth looking at.

This is all about boosting investor confidence. It will take investment from outside government to make this work, and work in the long term. In Committee, we will need those amendments to designate CO₂ spur pipelines and carbon capture equipment as nationally significant infrastructure projects under the Planning Act 2008, and to remove the requirement for special parliamentary procedures in the Pipe-Lines Act 1962 for pipeline compulsory purchase orders. That will help unlock the £9.4 billion already committed by the Government to CCUS delivery, and enable clusters such as Scotland, Teesside, the north-west and Humberside to move forward.

We have the potential to be a global leader in the development and export of carbon management technologies. Let us seize the moment—let us go for it, because there are great reserves of energy out there that can help us.