The government will invest nearly £22bn in carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects as it looks to curtail the UK’s carbon emissions.

According to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the projects will create “thousands of jobs” while attracting around £8bn in private investment.

CCS technology concentrates carbon emissions before it reaches the atmosphere and stores it beneath the seabed.

The full £21.7bn investment will be made available in stages over the next 25 years as the UK looks to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Initial investment will be focused on two “carbon capture clusters” in Teesside and Merseyside, while the announcement also sees funding allocated to build the UK’s first large-scale hydrogen production plant.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the plan would help to “reignite” the UK’s industrial heartlands by investing in future industries. He said: “For the past 14 years, business has been second-guessing a dysfunctional government, which...