BGS responds to Government’s ambitious Ten Point Plan for net zero transition
BGS has welcomed the Government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution which highlights the importance of geology and the ongoing need to support essential geoscientific research that will underpin the UK’s long term energy transition.
18/11/2020 By BGS Press
Clean hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS), zero-carbon transport and offshore wind are all key pillars of the Prime Minister’s ambitious Ten Point Plan to drive the UK towards a net zero emissions target, which will be backed by £12 billion in Government investment and aims to create 250 000 new, ‘green’ jobs.
BGS, which provides expert and independent advice on key areas of geoscience, says that before meaningful progress can be made towards technologies required for decarbonisation, scientists rapidly need to advance their understanding of the subsurface.
The Prime Minister’s statement illustrates how important geology and geological technology is for the energy transition and for the commitment to net zero.
The underground plays a vital part in this agenda and it is very important that we don’t underestimate the efforts needed to achieve this.
We recommend more funding for research in this area, and policy and regulatory support to improve investor confidence and to encourage business to get involved and make a green industrial revolution a reality for the UK.
Our role in providing expert and independent advice on key areas of geoscience, places us in a unique position to work with partners in supporting the net zero agenda.
Dr Karen Hanghøj, BGS Director.
If we want to reach net zero by 2050, we need to focus on increasing our knowledge of the subsurface of the UK.
Geothermal energy, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and subsurface heat storage are four technologies that could get the UK towards net zero.
We need more large-scale pilot and demonstrations of geothermal, CCS and subsurface heat and hydrogen storage so that we can make rapid advances in these fields.
Prof Mike Stephenson, BGS Chief Scientist for Decarbonisation and Resource Management.
To support this, BGS will continue to research the optimal use of the rocks under the seabed for carbon dioxide and hydrogen storage, as well as establish the geological foundations of the infrastructure we will need to realise this important endeavour – new platforms, new windfarms and new pipeline infrastructure.
Through the newly established £31 million UK Geoenergy Observatories along with the broader research community, BGS will research the extraction of geothermal heat from old coal mines and other buried rocks, as well as looking into storing industrial heat or summer heat below the surface, so that it can be used later.
To support the nuclear industry, BGS will research the safe and long-term disposal of radioactive waste in deep, secure underground vaults so that it will be safe for future generations, and so that the UK can benefit from low carbon, reliable baseload electricity.
BGS also welcomes the Government’s support to develop homegrown electric cars in the UK’s world-leading manufacturing centres in the West Midlands, north-east England and North Wales. As the UK’s national provider of information and data on metals critical for battery manufacture, the BGS will research both the prospects for metal extraction in the UK and the international security of supply of metals which can help to meet the demand for batteries and other low carbon technologies.
Relative topics
Related news

One year on: reflections on the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption
18/01/2023
The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai Volcano in January 2022 has highlighted a global unpreparedness for the impacts from large-scale global events.

New geological map of the Maltese Islands published
19/12/2022
The new map, commissioned by Malta’s Continental Shelf Department, is the first update for almost 30 years.

Work complete on 1000 solar panels at BGS
07/12/2022
More than 1000 energy-saving solar panels have been installed at BGS’s headquarters in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire.

Updated radon map for Great Britain published
02/12/2022
The UK Health Security Agency and BGS have published an updated radon potential map for Great Britain.

UK Geoenergy Observatories: time zero for net zero
30/11/2022
The BGS-led UK Geoenergy Observatories project is shining a light on the subsurface’s potential to provide geothermal energy.

BGS scientists on board research vessel in Japan in major marine research collaboration
25/11/2022
Experts from BGS’s marine team are part of a major international marine research collaboration to understand more about earthquakes associated with the Japan Trench.

BGS Strategy: public consultation
18/11/2022
We would welcome responses from anyone interested or involved in the geosciences as part of the wider consultation on our new BGS Strategy

BGS supports development of a local land-use framework for Devon
10/11/2022
The framework will help to identify data improvements to support more joined-up decision making about land use in Devon.

Deep-sea mining evidence review published
31/10/2022
The deep-sea mining independent evidence review report was commissioned by the UK Government to inform its policy in relation to deep-sea mining.

Parts of UK listed among world’s most important geological sites
25/10/2022
Parts of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have been named among 100 of the world’s most important geological sites by UNESCO and international scientists.

Film trilogy wins award and shares experiences of 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption
24/10/2022
A collaborative film trilogy co-directed by BGS Volcanologist, Dr Anna Hicks, has won the overall ‘Dynamic Earth’ Theme Award at the Earth Futures Festival 2022.

BGS joins European Geothermal Congress to highlight UK’s geothermal potential
21/10/2022
The European Geothermal Congress will discuss how the geothermal sector can help with the energy crisis.