2026-03-10
I want to begin by making one thing absolutely clear – this is NOT NIMBYism.
The people of the Wirral are not anti-environment, quite the opposite, we understand the urgency of climate change, we support net zero and we want meaningful action to protect our planet. But what we cannot accept is the idea that environmental progress must come at the cost of our own environment, our homes. Other people’s homes and livelihoods.
We are being asked to accept a 200km, CO2 pipeline, running from the peak district, through Cheshire and through the spine of the Wirral. For the CO2 to be compressed at an industrial plant, to then be stored offshore beneath the sea-bed – and we are told that this progress? That this is inevitable. That this is vital? And we are expected to not ask questions, to accept the inevitability of it? To be ‘ok’ with Peak Cluster representatives shutting us down at consultations. To have the CEO, John Egan, shrug his shoulders when challenged and respond with ‘I don’t know, we can’t say, we are unsure.’
We are also told, woodland will be disturbed, greenbelt land will be excavated habitats will be disrupted, infrastructure will be installed just 1.2m below ground on a publicly known route – an open invitation for vandalism or worse, terrorism. Because it may sound extreme but it also the world we are living in right now. At the coast here is to be an above ground installation, now projected to be closer to eight football pitches in footprint, with vent stacks up to 50m high. This isn’t minor infrastructure, this is industrialisation.
Why should our land be sacrificed when alternative approaches exist? Why are we not prioritising technologies that capture carbon dioxide at source, such as Carbon8, a less invasive, more economically viable and cheaper process than a 200km pipe. Re-use that CO2 for energy, rather than transporting it long distances and storing it beneath the sea? Because let us be frank, this isn’t tackling climate change, this is not reducing emissions, it is just hiding them, pretending they will go away or leaving it for the next generation or the one after to deal with.
Instead of CO2 going into the atmosphere it is going into precious ground beneath our seabed. They may have been gas fields but that does not make it risk free; it simply relocates the risk. One only must look at the Lake Nyos disaster. A naturally held pocket of CO2, just like the gas fields, released 300,000 tonnes of CO2 and Peak Cluster are transporting 3,000,000 tonnes INITIALLY. And please don’t state this was a fluke, a one off, because two years prior the same thing happened in another area, Lake Monoun. There are many things we can control, nature is not one of them. The statement made by John Egan, that these gas fields have held gas for millions of years and so are safe to hold the CO2, well Lake Nyos was safe. Until it was not.
Or is there another reason? Would the CO2 displace what little oil and gas is left, making this a stealth fracking exercise? Given the vagueness of Peak Clusters application, this is a real possibility. What do they not want us to know?
We ask what happens in the event of a failure on land? We know CO2 is an asphyxiant, we know that pipeline failures have occurred across the world We know it happened in Denbury, Louisiana in 2024. We know that in Satartia, Mississippi, February 22nd 2020, one such incident occurred. Emergency Vehicles stalled owing to the displacement of oxygen by the CO2 – they couldn’t reach those in need for over an hour. We know that over 200 people were evacuated and 45 hospitalised.
And if this pipeline runs near critical infrastructure such as hospitals, what’s the emergency plan? Where are the patients taken? And how quickly - can already stretched to breaking point – emergency services respond? Who is trained for that scenario? Who pays for it? Who manages it when those who would be called upon are perilously close to the pipeline itself.
The pipeline runs past at least four primary schools. CO2 is a dense gas, in the event of a leak we know that pets and children are affected first, one of the reasons being they are closer to the ground. What happens then, when our babies, when our children, when our future end up in a situation when their safety is compromised for the sake of so-called progress? Should we not be protecting them? Should we not be learning from Satartia and Denbury? Should we not be looking at other alternatives instead of placing money and greed above the future of our country and our society? We are told to trust that this technology will perform as promised, yet independent studies by the Institute of Energy, Economic and Financial Analysis found that flagship CCS projects globally have shown under performance and outright failures. They stated ‘CCS often overpromises and under delivers. Seven out of thirteen flagship CCS pipeline projects did not perform as expected. One failed outright. This is not speculation, these are cold hard facts, unlike the information we are receiving from peak Cluster. So, what makes this pipeline different? Show us the data, the projections, the evidence.
Who is monitoring this pipeline? Who is inspecting it? Who maintains it? Who protects it? Who prevents vandalism and nefarious activities along its length. And in 20 years when Peak Cluster steps back who carries the liability then? Is it the state? Is it the taxpayer? Is it us? Is it the people of Wirral who have already been expected to shoulder the burden by the desecration of land and compromise of our safety? I fully intend to be here in twenty years, as does my daughter and perhaps even her children. Are transferring long term risk to future generations for short-term political targets? Are we the guinea pigs?
There’s the economic impact. Estate agents in February 2026 have reported uncertainty surrounding property transactions along the route of the pipeline. The Wirral has always been proud of its strong local economy. We buy local, we support local, we live local. But if confidence drops and people choose not to move here, and people start to move out. That affects our shops, services our sports clubs, our community life and identity. So who indeed profits from this? Because it is not the people of the Wirral. And let us not pretend that reinstatement equals restoration, you cannot excavate woodland and return it to its’ original ecological maturity with a landscaping plan. Once disturbed some things simply cannot be replaced. These are not sensationalist questions or statements. They are responsible ones.
So no, this is not NIMBYism this is about safety, this is about environmental integrity, it is emergency preparedness it is about long term financial accountability. We are not saying do nothing. We are asking to prioritise solutions that do not ask one community to carry disproportionate risk when known technologies already exist. We deserve transparency. We deserve to know that in trying to save the planet we are not being asked to sacrifice our own homeland, our safe space in the process. So, I call upon all councillors present, regardless of party ties, ask yourself these questions and answer honestly. Stand with the residents and help us stop the CCS pipeline now.
Laura Beveridge
Action Against CCS
Chair
This speech, along with the full proceedings from the extraordinary full council meeting on 9 March 2026, can be viewed on the Wirral Council website.