Government approves controversial carbon capture project on Merseyside
Plus: the proliferation of neighbourhood rubbish piles and activities to get you in the Halloween spirit
Dear readers — It’s another blustery day on the docks, but no mere weather can stop us bringing the news that matters to our members. This week, you can look forward to a lovely feature from David Lloyd about a woman in her 80s who is single-handedly bringing her local park back to life, as well an essay by Laurence about regeneration (or lack thereof) on the Wirral. But first, your regularly scheduled Monday briefing and today’s big story, as the prime minister, chancellor, and energy secretary are headed back up to Merseyside for a potentially huge announcement…
ICYMI: Don’t forget to read Jessica Bradley’s fascinating weekend article about how the “false memory syndrome” movement has discredited sexual assault victims. Merseyside and Cheshire police were some of the first UK police forces to investigate alleged historical sex abuse in former children’s homes and residential schools in the 1990s; as more people were arrested and charged, some of the alleged abusers fought back, claiming the victims accusing them had recovered false memories implanted by their therapists. The feature, about one man’s search for justice amidst the memory wars, was described by a Post reader as “a very in depth and thought provoking piece”.
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The big story: Government approves controversial carbon capture project on Merseyside
Top line: Prime Minister Keir Starmer, visiting the North West with chancellor Rachel Reeves and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband over the weekend, confirmed the Merseyside project would go ahead as part of a £21.7bn initiative to store 20-30 million tonnes of carbon emissions from energy, industry, and hydrogen production across the north of England by 2030. While some championed this move as a much-needed investment in climate solutions, the announcement was met with criticism, including from inside the Labour Party.
Context: Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a process of separating carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial installations before it can reach the atmosphere. The CO2 is then transported to a long-term storage location, usually deep underground. The gas can then be piped to locations where it can be stored or used to manufacture plastics, grow greenhouse plants, and even purified to be used in fizzy drinks.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Climate Change Committee, CCS will be a key factor in meeting targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change. Starmer said the investment in northern CCS would “kickstart growth” and “reignite our industrial heartlands”, with a similar project greenlit for Teesside. The IEA has said CCS projects globally could reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by almost a fifth and reduce the cost of tackling the climate crisis by 70%.
The controversy: Both climate action groups and leading climate scientists have warned that the benefits of CCS are “unproven” and may keep economies dependent on fossil fuels to a dangerous extent long-term. The companies investing in CCS development, meanwhile, are huge oil and gas firms that stand to gain from continued usage of fossil fuels.
Greenpeace UK's policy director, Doug Parr, told the BBC that the scheme would "extend the life of planet-heating oil and gas production", while Friends of the Earth called for the money to instead be spent on insulating people’s homes.
One of the Merseyside projects will see a pipeline transporting CO2 from north Wales and the north of England to a storage site in Liverpool. The Labour Party’s own North Wales Member of the Welsh Senedd (MS), Carolyn Thomas, told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that Wales was going to be used as an “exhaust pipe”.
“It will have an ecological impact as well as a community impact,” she said.
The appeal: Last month, leading climate scientists urged the government to pause further investment in CCS, arguing in a letter to Ed Miliband that the procedure relies on unproven technology, and that it will lock the UK into fossil fuel production for generations to come. One of the letter’s signatories, David Cebon, a professor of mechanical engineering at Cambridge University, said “the CCS projects were inherited from the previous government’s cosy relationship with the fossil fuel industry”.
But Miliband, who first announced the plan to develop carbon capture sites in 2009 under the previous Labour government, said there was no viable alternative to CCS other than “unabated gas”. In addition, Reeves claimed the scheme would bring “4,000 good jobs and billions of private investment into communities across Merseyside and Teesside”. The government says the schemes would create 50,000 more jobs across the North West and North Wast in the long-term.
Bottom line: Given that Merseyside is susceptible to the ravages of climate change, the recent flooding in Bootle and other Merseyside areas has been a stark reminder that the government must get climate projects like this right. But while the creation of thousands of jobs will be welcome, neglecting the advice of leading climate scientists and activists might well prove even more dangerous than inaction.
Your Post briefing
An enormous pile of rubbish and scrap metal – including kitchen appliances, clothes, bikes and garden furniture – is under Liverpool City Council investigation after complaints from neighbours. Photographs outside a house in Gleave Crescent in Everton were tweeted at the council, with one neighbour saying she had been trying to contact them since June. Meanwhile, wood and debris continues to pile up outside a vacant Ducie Street property, raising fire hazard concerns. In June, we reported on the Ducie Street pile-up and the West Tree Estates landlords responsible for the property.
Following the Southport riots in July, two men have been arrested and charged by police. Harry Holmes-Moore and Lukas Allen, both 23, have both been charged with violent disorder, while Allen faces further charges of burglary and possession of a controlled class A drug. Another rioter, Jake Joseph, who threw bricks at police officers during the disorder, was also arrested and charged after he was identified by a Merseyside Police detective at Joseph’s younger brother’s hearing at Liverpool Crown Court; he has since been jailed for 34 months. There have now been 123 arrests for disorder in Merseyside since the riots, which also affected Walton and the city centre, with 86 people charged and 64 people sentenced.
Soul act The Real Thing, the first all-black British band to have a number one UK single, have been honoured in a ceremony at St George’s Hall. Chris Amoo and Dave Smith, the only surviving members of the Toxteth group, received the Roll of Citizen of Honour of the City of Liverpool on Friday. Their anthem “You To Me Are Everything” was a global hit, followed by other best-selling songs including “Can You Feel The Force” and “Can't Get By Without You”.
Post Picks
🎃 Glorified is teaming up with Liverpool Horror Club to bring a secret Hallowe’en film screening to Future Yard this Saturday. The mystery film promises to offer “an evening of frights and delight with like-minded horror fans.” Buy tickets here.
🎇 If you find yourself in New Brighton, the Floral Pavilion is hosting “the Bar at the Edge of Time” on Wednesday and Thursday, billed as “a multi-sensory spectacular for audiences with profound and multiple learning disabilities”. Tickets can be purchased here.
🎤 On Friday, the legendary Leeds producer and DJ, Nightmares on Wax, takes over 24 Kitchen Street, headlining a celebration of LACES OUT! Festival’s 10th anniversary. Get final release tickets here.
Home of the week
This five-bed Crosby semi “where Edwardian elegance meets modern marvel” is only a short walk from Blundellsands train station and Crosby beach, promising “a life of luxury and convenience”. The only catch? The £475k asking price.
Recommended reads
This Paris Review interview with award-winning Irish novelist Kevin Barry, in which he expounds upon his time living in Liverpool, his abiding love for the accent, and how the Lion Tavern on Tithebarn Street sparked his indignation/imagination.
A Mary Wellesley article in the LRB about her trip to the “wyldrenesse of Wyrale”, as the 14th century Gawain poet put it – or just the Wirral, to you or me.
At the Financial Times, Political Editor George Parker writes about Starmer’s shaky first 100 days — how might he finally “get a grip” on Number 10?
BONUS: Not a read, exactly, but the extended edit of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s Desert Island Discs interview, in which he explains how he moved to Liverpool (actually Wallasey) “by mistake”, is well worth a listen.
Thanks to the FT for sponsoring today’s edition — get your discounted subscription now.
