A pledge by EU leaders to have up to 12 plants to demonstrate carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology operating by 2015 is set to fail, local MEP Chris Davies has warned. CCS development is regarded as crucial to curbing the emission of CO2 from the world’s growing number of fossil fuel power stations. Instead of being released into the atmosphere the gas is buried permanently deep underground.

Earlier this month a subsidy package likely to be worth more than £4 billion was approved by EU governments.

But Chris Davies, the MEP who leads on CCS issues in the European Parliament, has warned that the funding approval process for demonstration projects is too slow.

He told a CCS conference in London today: “As things stand there is no prospect of the EU meeting its target. We will be lucky to have 2 or 3 commercial-scale projects in operation by 2015.

The MEP called on the European Commission to sweep aside “bureaucratic obstacles” to accelerate the selection and construction of CCS-equipped power plants.

Davies said: “Every week of delay increases the risks of global warming and denies European industry the opportunity to become the world leader in CCS technology.”