Will the Minister outline what steps the Welsh Government is taking to incentivise the development of carbon capture technologies in Wales?
We recognise carbon capture has a potential role to play within the suite of measures to decarbonise some industrial sectors. Our policies are designed to support industry to reduce their emissions with consideration to the decarbonisation hierarchy – decreasing energy demand, maximising resource and energy efficiency, switching to renewable energy supply and then capturing the carbon dioxide which is otherwise unavoidable.
The UK Government have many of the levers to influence rates of carbon capture including the funding required for infrastructure and much of the regulatory policy responsibility, particularly around offshore transport and storage where the majority of storage potential is located. We have been pressing the UK Government to respond to the needs of our industries based in Wales, where pipeline transport solutions are not feasible.