The UK government has announced a significant investment of nearly £22 billion to develop carbon capture clusters in Merseyside and Teesside over the next 25 years. The aim of this funding is to create and support thousands of jobs, draw in private investment, and help the UK meet its climate goals. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, along with Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, made the announcement, emphasizing the importance of investing in the industry of the future to reignite the country's industrial heartlands. The funding will focus on supporting 'carbon capture clusters' that will capture emissions from energy, industry, and hydrogen production. This includes utilizing Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) technology to capture emissions from burning fuels and industrial processes, storing them permanently underground. The development will also pave the way for 'blue' hydrogen, created from natural gas with captured carbon emissions, offering a low-carbon energy solution for power plants and industrial processes. The investment aims to remove 8.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year and support the infrastructure needed for carbon transportation and storage networks. This initiative is expected to attract significant private investment, create 4,000 jobs directly, and support 50,000 jobs in the long term. The UK government believes this move will give confidence to industry investors, attract private investments, and help the country transition to clean energy. While the funding has been positively received by industry stakeholders and climate advisors, environmental organizations like Greenpeace have criticized the focus on hydrogen derived from gas. They argue that this approach risks prolonging the reliance on oil and gas production, which are detrimental to the climate. Despite differing opinions, the government's commitment to industrial growth, job creation, and climate action through carbon capture technology remains a key strategy in the UK's transition to a cleaner energy future.