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Energy Bill

We support the amendment. Although CO2 has been pumped into the North Sea over many years to recover oil supplies and is therefore not a new technology, the scale on which we are looking at the recovery of CO2 from power stations onshore and pumping it through a line system down into a reservoir that shall be capped is a massive undertaking. Of course, one problem that has been highlighted with the move towards the competition for carbon storage and capture is that the whole process relies on government subsidy and a potential tax advantage to make it workable. That is why two of the schemes that went forward failed on that basis. The purpose of the amendment is very welcome. One problem that many companies will face is that an enormous amount of investment will be needed to undertake this. If regulatory positions suddenly change without adequate consultation, and if the tax regime changes for one reason or another, the investment will be in jeopardy. If there is to be change in the regime, it seems only right and proper that in respect of the enormous amount of investment and risk that these companies are undertaking they should be kept informed of why any change in the regulation is taking place and how it should affect them. I know that the Minister says that this is all speculative, but there have been a number of complaints from companies in the North Sea about changes in the regulatory system that have changed the very nature of their investment opportunities and how they operate within the North Sea. This will be very detrimental in this new area of carbon capture and storage.