At the COP27 meeting in Egypt last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to delivering the country’s ambitious climate targets. Back home, the new Government has made clear that difficult decisions lie ahead as it looks to address the black hole in the country’s finances.
When the Chancellor delivers his long-awaited Autumn Statement, he must back up the Prime Minister’s words with action to ensure that sufficient attention and resources are put towards delivering on our climate targets. He must also recognise and reaffirm the value of the technologies and projects that can help to achieve this, including in highly industrialised regions such as the Humber.
The Government has committed to achieving net zero by 2050, with detailed plans to decarbonise sectors and industrial regions like the Humber and Teesside. Independent bodies, including the UK’s Climate Change Committee, have made it clear that the only way to achieve net zero is by investing heavily in low-carbon technology including carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen production. The Humber is at the forefront of developing and scaling this technology.
