Ten years ago, on this day, January 17th, 2016 the Financial Times reports on the aftermath of the Conservative government’s decision to pull funding (£1bn) for carbon capture and storage.
Scott, M. 2016. Carbon capture at risk of running out of steam. Financial Times, 17 January. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/91726a24-a4be-11e5-a91e-162b86790c58.html#ixzz3xVjZrV00
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 401ppm. As of 2025 it is 425ppm, but check here for daily measures.
The broader context was that carbon capture and storage had first been mooted in the late 1970s (and was regarded sceptically). It had had a brief moment in the late 1980s, and then disappeared into the undergrowth.
The specific context was that after a failed first CCS competition (2007-2011) another one had been set up. Companies were to compete for a billion quid. Then, abruptly, Chancellor George Osborne killed that.
What I think we can learn from this is that technologies go through ups and downs. CCS is a proper roller-coaster. You can read all about it here. (Hudson, 2024)
What happened next
The CCS band-wagon had its wheels put back on, a new axle etc, between 2016 and 2018. Enormous amounts of money are being spent. CO2 savings? Not so much…
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
References
Xxx
Also on this day:
January 17, 1970 – The Bulletin reprints crucial environment/climate article
January 17th – A religious perspective on climate action
January 17, 2001 – Enron engineers energy “blackouts” to gouge consumers