Should we welcome the return of CCS?

“We have found that carbon capture and storage in the North Sea can reduce emissions from gas and coal power stations by up to 90%,” said the Labour chancellor. “So we are today publishing proposals for industry wide consultation to move this important environmental advance from research to commercial development.”

The chancellor in question was Gordon Brown, speaking in 2006 as he announced government funding for research into carbon capture and storage. He promised that the first full scale...