UK MPs warn billions spent on carbon capture may hit bills

The Labour government plans to invest nearly GBP 22 billion ($27 billion) to develop carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS), to help Britain reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

But the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee raised concerns, saying the "government's backing of unproven, first-of-a-kind technology to reach net zero is high-risk."

Three quarters of the GBP 22 billion will come from "levies on consumers who are already facing some of the highest energy bills in the world," the cross-party committee said.

The committee found that the finanical impact on households had not been examined by the government nor was there a provision to ensure consumers benefit from lower energy bills.

The "policy is going to have a very significant effect on consumers and industry's electricity bills," said chair of the committee, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown.

CCUS is a technology that seeks to eliminate emissions created by burning fuels for energy and from industrial processes.

The carbon is captured and stored permanently in various underground environments.

A government spokesperson said the technology is "vital to boost our energy independence."

"There is no route to protecting jobs in our industrial heartlands and securing the future of heavy industry in the UK without it," the spokesperson added.

The ambition to become a world-leader in carbon capture comes despite doubts over the technology's effectiveness at tackling global warming given the costs and complexity involved.

It has however been advocated by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), especially for reducing the CO2 footprint of difficult to decarbonise industries like cement and steel.