Detailed research to identify sites beneath the North Sea where carbon dioxide can be stored safely will be backed with Government funding, Stewart Stevenson announced today.

The Scottish Government will contribute £75,000 towards the Scottish Centre for Carbon Storage study.

Scotland can accommodate industrial emissions generated in Scotland and North East of England for the next 200 years. The research will now make detailed assessments of the potential of specific sites.

Speaking at a conference on CCS, Climate Change Minister Stewart Stevenson said: "Carbon capture and storage will play a critical role in Scotland's future energy mix and has the potential for a whole new industry supporting up to 10,000 new jobs.

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"We already know that Scotland has the storage capacity, the natural resources, and the technological know how for CCS to reduce emissions and produce clean energy.

"The second phase of this collaborative research, which also includes financial contributions from all industrial partners, will further assess carbon dioxide storage sites under the North Sea."

He continued: "We have been pushing hard in Europe to promote CCS opportunities in Scotland and will bid to lead the EU's CO2 transport and storage network study later this year.

"We also continue to press the UK Government for quick action on the CCS competition, where we are hopeful that a Scottish entrant will be successful. We want to see CCS develop in Scotland and demonstration projects as soon as possible. Scotland can be a world leader in CCS and we will take every possible step to make this a reality."

(GK/KMcA)