A petition set up by an Island man to stop ExxonMobil’s Solent CO2 Pipeline has now topped 25,000 signatures.
Support for Little Atherfield resident Christopher Davis’s Change.org appeal has shot up by nearly 24,000 signatures since 16th August.
The American multinational oil and gas corporation is attempting to gain permission to construct an underground pipeline to transport captured CO2 from its Fawley Manufacturing Complex, and potentially the wider Solent area. ExxonMobil has said the CO2 would be transferred to a deep rock formation in the English Channel to be safely stored.
Since it presented plans on 18th July, the corporation has been carrying out its Pipeline Corridor Consultation which puts forward 3 potential routes, two of which travel beneath the Island. The petition reads:
“ExxonMobil are planning to build a massive pipeline across the Isle of Wight to take captured carbon dioxide, from the Fawley Industrial complex, on Southampton Water, to be permanently buried at sea. “The 2 favoured routes cut straight through the Isle of Wight, from coast to coast, and will involve enormous groundworks over several years. The pipeline route will be up to 50 metres wide, creating a massive scar right across the Island.”
On Tuesday (27th August) Christopher said:
“This petition is aimed at getting the entire Solent CO2 Pipeline Project cancelled. “The formal consultation on this will not begin for some time yet – our hope is to unite the opposition. “Such pipelines are fraught with dangers and have been banned in some American states. Leakage, pollution and even explosion have been quoted as long term hazards.”
Councillors Nick Stuart and Claire Critchison are in the process of organising a campaign group opposing the Solent CO2 Pipeline. Michael Foley, ExxonMobil’s low carbon solutions executive for the UK, 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.”
Michael Foley, UK Low Carbon Solutions Executive at ExxonMobil, says:
“As part of our commitment to following the Development Consent Order (DCO) process as set out by the UK Government, we are currently inviting local communities and stakeholders – via our consultation – to help us shape this project, particularly in choosing the pipeline’s path.
“We recognise that there is a range of views on the project, but if we are to ensure the UK continues to have the vital heating, transport fuels, and products that people rely on every day, while at the same time lowering emissions, it is recognised by the UK Government and independent experts alike that CCS technology will play a critical role.
“Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a proven technology that has seen underground pipelines safely deployed around the world for more than fifty years, with ExxonMobil itself operating hundreds of miles of pipeline.”
