The comments follow the announcement that the government has pulled out of negotiations over the CCS demonstration programme at Longannet in Scotland.

On behalf of 1,000 members in ScottishPower, part of the consortium behind the programme, Prospect negotiations officer Jim Cooper said:

“This announcement is deeply disappointing and completely at odds with the government’s stated commitment to encouraging opportunities for skilled employment in green technologies.

“Not only will it result in the loss of vital employment in Fife and the surrounding areas, but the Longannet design would have provided a model that could have been retro-fitted to coal and gas power stations around the world.

“The global challenges presented by fossil fuel stations, particularly within developing countries – with a coal-fired station opening every week in China – will be with us for some time. But DECC’s penny-wise and pound foolish approach could prevent the UK from leading the world in this vital CCS technology.

“It seems inconceivable that the plug has been pulled purely because the government is unwilling to plug the relatively small gap between the funding earmarked for the project and what we now know are the actual build costs – a small price for the benefits of securing the electricity supply of the future.”

ScottishPower's coal-fired plant at Longannet had been the only remaining site in the UK government competition for funding worth up to £1bn to develop CCS technology.