The Peak Cluster project aims to tackle greenhouse gas emissions by transporting carbon dioxide from four cement and lime producers to be stored underground in depleted Morecambe gas fields. According to major media reports, this roughly £5bn initiative is described by the Government as vital to hitting Net Zero targets without decimating the cement industry. Plans are in early stages with £60m of private and public funding committed, but they still need approval.
The pipeline is three feet wide and 125 miles long, expected to last 40 years, while the storage in Morecambe could take 300 years to fill. Peak Cluster is only monitoring the project for 20 years at least, and the project dates back to 2023 when it was announced as a 'world-first project to create net-zero cement'. Local opposition has been mounting, with hundreds of Wirral people gathering on Sunday, March 8 to rally against the pipeline scheme.
Presented under vote-pleasing tick boxes of 'job creation' and 'environmental progress' the residents of Wirral have a r
A Facebook group against the plans has 9,000 members, and a parliamentary petition has reached more than 16,600 signatures. The pipeline has united Labour, Reform UK, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens in opposition. A formal campaign group, Action Against CCS (AAC), has been set up to organize resistance.
According to Liverpool Echo, AAC spokesperson described the project as a knee-jerk reaction and argued that the billions spent would be more effective elsewhere. The group also said huge numbers of people are feeling very uneasy about the unproven net gains of carbon capture storage and the drastic environmental damage the project will cause. The UK Government said it has no plans to stop projects moving forward.
Specific environmental damage predictions and details of the proposed compression facility sites near Moreton or Meols remain unclear, as do plans to import carbon dioxide emissions from across the world into Ellesmere Port and Merseyside. The outcome of an emergency March 9 debate involving Labour councillors is also unknown.