Green Party's Pipeline Meeting Attracts Full House As CO2 Project Controversy Continues

The Isle of Wight Green Party had a full house yesterday evening at its Newport public meeting opposing ExxonMobil’s pipeline.

The gathering included a talk on the Solent CO2 Pipeline project proposal from Vix Lowthion, the Greens’ Isle of Wight East General Election candidate, an update from Councillor Claire Critchison about the cross-party campaign against the pipeline’s newly established steering group and public contributions from the floor.

The American oil and gas corporation is seeking permission  to install an underground pipeline to transport captured C02 from its Fawley Manufacturing Complex, and possibly the wider Solent area.

ExxonMobil says the CO2 would be taken to a deep rock formation in the English Channel for safe storage – a process known as carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Vix’s presentation gave a detailed description of the energy provider’s proposed routes across the west of the Isle of Wight and warned of its “devastating” impact on the Island’s Heritage Coast and National Landscape.

She also outlined the project timeline of ExxonMobil’s plans over the next couple of years which includes a statutory consultation period in the spring or summer of 2025 and a final application for a Development Consent Order in 2026.

Peter Banks, a Green Party campaigner and coordinator with an NGO working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, made a series of comments which were sharply critical of CCS technology and assured attendees of their ability to stop the project.

He said:

“They don’t have any carbon capture systems working in the UK – in fact they don’t have any working in our neighbours across the water in Europe.

“Of all the ones that have ever been tried there’s been a 80 per cent failure rate.

“People power does work and I wish you all the best.”

Cameron Palin, co-chair of the Isle of Wight Green Party, said:

“This evening we had the public meeting to discuss with the community the CO2 pipeline proposal.

“The reason we are opposing it is because it is just dragging out the use of oil and gas. We need to be looking at investing in renewables – so wind, solar, tidal – and that is where the future should be. Not for Exxonmobil to continue using fossil fuels in this industry.

“We need to decarbonise and that should not be done by this pipeline ripping up our natural environment and protected landscapes here on the Island.”

Michael Foley, UK Low Carbon Solutions Executive at ExxonMobil, has previously said:

“We are here to listen and to understand views on how the proposed consultation corridors would perform, and encourage everyone to take part.

“CCS is proven technology, which the UK Climate Change Committee, and the UK Government, consider key to achieving a significant reduction in industrial CO2 emissions – the industries that produce essential products that we rely on every day.

“Our proposed pipeline will be able to transport millions of tonnes per year of captured CO2, with a capacity equivalent to removing over five million cars off the road each year.”

ExxonMobil has been approached for further comment.