Carbon Tracker Associate Analyst and report author Lorenzo Sani said: “Blue hydrogen and Gas-CCS projects should not be considered low-carbon unless, on top of achieving high carbon capture rates, they can guarantee to only utilise natural gas with low upstream emissions. Green hydrogen, produced from renewable electricity, remains the only truly low-emission pathway.”

Dr Andrew Boswell who is taking the UK Government to the High Court in July over the assessment of upstream emissions in recent planning approval of Gas-CCS Projects in Teesside said:  “UK Ministers promoted and subsidised these new natural gas developments whilst ignoring the very severe climate impacts.  With the Net Zero Teesside project, minister Claire Coutinho even agreed that upstream emissions had significant adverse climate impacts when approving it. This report shows that the decision was made using outdated Government assumptions that do not correctly forecast future emissions, and the minister was only seeing around half the real carbon footprint. An urgent review of CCUS and hydrogen policy is required.”