• The need for gas storage in the UK is strongly supported by the Government and industry regulators such as the Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Office for Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). The 2007 Energy Review specifically highlighted the need for increased availability and investment in gas storage.
• The Government sees climate change as the greatest long-term challenge today.
• Its Climate Change Bill sets out a legally binding target for reducing UK carbon dioxide emissions by at least 26 per cent by 2020 and at least 60 per cent by 2050 compared to 1990 levels.
• Natural gas is a less carbon-intensive fuel (meaning less carbon dioxide is emitted per unit of energy production) than other fossil fuels such as coal and diesel.
• Due to the relatively clean-burning nature of natural gas, greenhouse gas emissions are less than those associated with the combustion of coal and diesel which has been used increasingly.