Salmond accuses Labour of “betraying Scotland” in Carbon Capture Snub
FORMER First Minister Alex Salmond has accused the UK Government of betraying the North East of Scotland, as it snubs the ACORN carbon capture project.
The UK Government has announced plans to invest £22billion in carbon capture projects in England - but has come under fire for after snubbing the Acorn project on the Buchan coast.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband are visited the North West of England today to confirm the funding for two sites in Teesside and Merseyside, which are expected to bring in £8billion of private investment into these communities.
However, all the funding is to to be poured into 'Track 1' carbon capture projects, leaving those with 'Track 2' status - including Acorn - with no funding.
Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he would back Carbon Capture with £20billion over 20 years, which was to include funding for Scotland’s Carbon Capture development. The new Labour government has added a £1.7billion uplift over a longer timeframe but have dedicated all of the funding to England.
Commenting former First Minister and Alba Party leader Alex Salmond said:
“In the last 17 years successive Labour then Tory governments have committed to carbon capture projects in the North East of Scotland and then reneged on these commitments.
“They have promised support and then rolled back on Scottish carbon capture proposals since the Miller project at Peterhead in 2007. Today’s announcement is a betrayal of the North East of Scotland and we should now be extremely concerned at the lack of any earmarked funding for the Acorn project. The UK Government must urgently confirm if Scotland is set to miss out yet again due to a UK Government decision and if there will be any funding available to develop and deploy planet saving Carbon Capture Technology in Scotland, with all of the jobs and investment that this would create.
“Since 2007, £80 Billion has flowed in oil revenues from Scotland to the London Treasury. If a bare fraction of that had been invested in carbon capture then Scotland would right now be leading the world in planet saving technology and advancing into the hydrogen economy.
“Thus we need the cash for ACORN offered immediately and scaled up. In addition it should be made a consent requirement of all new oil and gas projects to have a carbon capture commitment. In that way we can both save jobs in the North East of Scotland and save the planet.
“Scotland needs both control of our own resources through independence and grown up politicians directing the nation’s destiny.”