In an effort to secure its energy sources and achieve a net-zero economy by the middle of the century, Britain on Friday unveiled a 20-year plan to capture carbon and commit to nuclear energy.
According to a statement, the project’s expenditure of $20 billion ($24 billion) will contribute to the creation of 50,000 jobs.
It also stated that additional information would be provided by Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt during his budget statement on Wednesday.
Speaking on Friday, Hunt claimed that the move would help prevent a recurrence of the skyrocketing energy costs that millions of Britons have been dealing with since last year, when the invasion of Ukraine by a major energy producer Russia caused supplies of oil and gas to become more scarce globally.
“We don’t want to see high bills like this again, it’s time for a clean energy reset,” Hunt said in the statement.
“That is why we are fully committing to nuclear power in the UK, backing a new generation of small modular reactors, and investing… in clean energy through carbon capture.”
Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps said the government wants Britain, “already a global leader in offshore wind power” to reach the same level “for the UK’s nuclear and carbon capture industries”.
The government’s plan would “move forward projects that seek to store 20-30 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030” in the near future.
According to the statement, this would equate to emissions from 10–15 million vehicles.
