Responding to the publication today of the UK Government’s announcement of a new industrial strategy, Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said:

“The UK Government has correctly recognised the need for the transition to a low-carbon economy to lie at the heart of its industrial strategy. The UK already has a competitive edge in many low-carbon technologies, such as offshore wind and electric cars, which will help it to grow markets, particularly after the departure from the European Union. The strategy should also include a major new commitment to research and development on carbon capture and storage, which has suffered from muddled and inconsistent policy-making. I hope that the Prime Minister, Theresa May, will explore with Mr Trump at their meeting this week the possibility of a major large-scale collaboration between the UK and the United States on carbon capture and storage. The two countries have already identified this technology as a priority through Mission Innovation, which was launched in Paris in December 2015. Carbon capture and storage will be essential to Mr Trump’s pledge to develop clean coal, and the UK is uniquely placed to be a strategic partner, particularly as it already set out plans to phase out polluting coal power plants. The development of clean coal with carbon capture and storage technology would have a broad market across the world.”

 

For more information about this media release, please contact Victoria Druce on +44 (0) 20 7107 5865 or v.druce@lse.ac.uk, or Bob Ward on +44 (0) 7811 320346 or r.e.ward@lse.ac.uk

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