Hottest summer on record highlights need to urgently decarbonise UK’s essential industries

London [2 September] The UK’s hot summer is a stark reminder of the urgent need to accelerate action on climate change, according to the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA).

The CCSA says the record temperatures in summer 2026 confirmed by the Met Office, underlines the urgency in cutting industrial, fuel supply, power and waste emissions, which are collectively responsible for 30% of the UK’s emissions.

These are the industries that make many of the things we rely on every day, from the cement used to build homes, hospitals and schools, to fuels and products made by refineries, and the chemicals used in medicines, food production and countless everyday manufactured products.

The first UK CCUS projects are now in construction and delivering jobs and investment in our industrial regions. HyNet and the East Coast Cluster are set to capture and permanently store millions of tonnes of CO₂ each year from industry and power across the North West, North Wales and the North East. These projects have already awarded over £4 billion in supply-chain contracts and are supporting around 5,500 construction jobs.

The potential is even greater. More than 100 CCUS projects and clusters are now in development across the UK, representing potential capacity to capture and store over 77 million tonnes of CO₂ every year.

CCUS is an essential part of the mix needed to tackle industrial emissions, including those that cannot be removed through electrification or other technologies. As the UK experiences the impacts of a changing climate, the need for the deployment of CCUS is becoming ever more urgent.

Olivia Powis, CEO of the CCSA said:

“The UK’s hottest summer on record is a stark reminder that climate change is happening now, and we need to cut emissions faster. But decarbonisation doesn’t mean turning our backs on the industries we rely on.”

“Cement, chemicals and other essential industries need practical ways to cut their emissions while continuing to invest and create jobs in Britain. CCUS can do exactly that. The infrastructure is being built, and we now need to get on and deploy it at scale.”