Simon has met Energy Ministers including Secretary of State Greg Clark (pictured in Guisborough) for talks about how local industry can work in partnership with the Government to deliver the first Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) operation in Britain.

Simon is also working with local and national organisations to tackle the problem of plastic pollution.

The Teesside Collective, a cluster of local firms working with the Tees Valley Combined Authority, want to bring the green technology to our area – a move that could turn Teesside into a ...magnet for investment and create thousands of jobs.

CCS can capture, transport and permanently store up to 90% of the CO₂ emissions produced by industrial facilities, preventing them from entering the atmosphere. It is a pioneering technology for tackling climate change in an affordable way.

Simon has briefed Ministers on the technology and why Teesside is widely recognised as among the best places to launch a CCS project in the UK.

Ministers have set out the detailed questions the Teesside Collective need to answer before the project can move to the investment stage. The questions include the financial contribution that will be made by industry, the scope for cost reductions over time and how the business model could be adapted in the event of possible changes to emissions trading after Britain leaves the EU.