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Joint statement by WWF, RSPB, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth

Introduction:

The science of climate change is unequivocal – to avoid
catastrophic impacts, industrialised countries like the UK must make steep and urgent reductions in their carbon dioxide emissions. This means that it is unacceptable to build new unabated coal-fired power stations in the UK. The high emissions from new coal plants would gravely undermine progress towards emission targets under the Climate Change Bill, and lock the UK into a high-carbon pathway for many decades. Granting consent to new unabated coal stations would also severely damage the UK Government’s credibility as a leader in international climate negotiations – at precisely the time when leadership is most needed.

Proposals to approve new coal stations that are “capture ready” are a dangerous distraction. Carbon capture and storage may have a role in future to deliver the deep emission reductions that are needed to avoid climate chaos. However, CCS technology has not yet been proven at scale on an integrated power plant and it may prove not to be technically or economically feasible. Building “capture ready” stations now would therefore impose unacceptable risks both to the climate and to the taxpayer, who may well be trapped into footing the bill for any future CCS retrofit.