Three Hull MPs have written to UK Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng calling on the Government to back the transformational Zero Carbon Humber project, which is currently the subject of a £75m public and private funding bid as part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
Emma Hardy MP (Hull West & Hessle), Dame Diana Johnson MP (Hull North) and Karl Turner MP (Hull East) said the project was “world-first opportunity to decarbonise the region whilst promoting local industry, attracting future inward investment and creating new jobs”.
Their letter referred to the Labour Party’s ‘Green Economic Recovery’ policy paper, unveiled by Shadow BEIS Spokesman Ed Miliband earlier this month, and highlighted how Zero Carbon Humber supports many of the paper’s proposals. In particular, these focused on using carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) to decarbonise energy intensive industries; producing hydrogen to decarbonise industry, heating and transport; offering decarbonisation options including CCUS and hydrogen to heavy industry such as steelmaking; and transitioning skilled workers from the oil and gas sector into low carbon alternatives.
The MPs also welcomed the Government’s aim to ‘build back greener’ and address the impact that COVID-19 is having on the regional economy, saying it would “send a strong and positive signal if the Government backed an exciting ground-breaking project like Zero Carbon Humber at this difficult time.”
With the Prime Minister publishing his ‘Ten Point Plan’ for a ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ which also highlighted the importance of CCUS and hydrogen in the pursuit of net zero, the twelve organisations behind Zero Carbon Humber welcomed the cross-party support their project is receiving.
Commenting on the proposals, Emma Hardy MP said:
“The Zero Carbon Humber project offers the opportunity to decarbonise the region whilst promoting local industry, attracting future inward investment and creating new jobs. This project will also enhance the Humber region’s reputation as the UK’s Energy Estuary driving investment in green energy and growth in our region.
“Hull already employs a large proportion of workers in the energy sector and is placed in a prime location with industries such as engineering, manufacturing and logistics in our area.
“It is of paramount importance that we look towards decarbonising our industries whilst ensuring their future sustainability. Zero Carbon Humber will maintain this employment, provide high skilled jobs and provide new opportunities for local employment and economy.”
Dan Sadler, UK Low Carbon Strategy Director at Equinor said:
“This project is a no-brainer for the Humber and for the UK. It is vital to tackling emissions regionally and nationally, whilst also future-proofing industry, securing and creating jobs. We’re delighted to see the Government and the Opposition agreeing on the technologies needed to meet the net zero challenge, and we’re grateful to our local MPs for the public support they’re putting behind our bid.”
-ENDS-
For more information please contact richard@lionheartpublicaffairs.com
More information on Zero Carbon Humber can be found at www.zerocarbonhumber.co.uk
A pdf copy of the letter to Minister Kwasi Kwarteng, signed by the three MPs, is attached