Energy: Carbon Capture and Storage

Lord Lawson of Blaby Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd November 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Marland]

My Lords, it is difficult to disagree with any single word that the noble Lord, Lord Ezra, said. He is obviously a leading expert in the field. It is gratifying to hear him make a statement like this and be so supportive of the Government’s plans.

[Lord Lawson of Blaby]

My Lords, is it not clear that the withdrawal of the Longannet proposal demonstrates what most people who have studied this know, that carbon capture and storage is a lovely idea but is both technologically improbable and economically prohibitive? Is it not about time, when there is great financial and public spending stringency, that the Government stopped throwing money at this lost cause?

[Lord Marland]

My noble friend Lord Lawson makes several good points. The reality is that that is why, having been the negotiating Minister for the project, I decided to call a stop to it. I felt that the financing for this particular project was going off the dial. We have been given an envelope with which to invest, one that is more than generous for the prospect. It is part of the coalition agreement and there is support from all sides of the House that we press on with this groundbreaking technology. Britain is famous for groundbreaking technology and we should—and will—continue to invest in that.