SIR Keir Starmer today vows to ignore the climate “extremists” and instead carve a “third way” which protects both the planet and people’s livelihoods.
The PM is announcing a £22billion cash injection over 25 years for “game-changing” carbon capture technology in Merseyside and Teesside.
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He said the record investment would “reignite our industrial heartlands”, directly creating 4,000 jobs, while putting Britain on a “sensible” path to Net Zero.
Carbon capture pulls the emissions from burning fuels and traps them permanently underground.
While backed by groups including the Climate Change Committee, protest radicals such as Extinction Rebellion say it is not a proper solution.
Greenpeace last night criticised the move, calling it a “second-rate solution” that is “going to extend the life of planet-heating oil and gas production”.
But in a direct rebuke, Sir Keir writes on this page: “I know some like Extinction Rebellion will lecture me on carbon capture . . . they’ll say it isn’t the right choice.”
And warning that industries employing tradesmen including sparkies and brickies would go to the wall without action, he insisted: “It’s working people who come first.”
Ministers expect the plan to attract £8billion of private investment and indirectly support up to 55,000 jobs.
Officials said carbon capture would remove 8.5million tonnes of carbon emissions each year, with the first carbon dioxide being stored from 2028.
The PM will today visit Liverpool with Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to announce the ambitious plans.
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