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The Peak Cluster Carbon Capture and Storage project has created significant public comment, with much of the opposition centring around the impact on ecology and habitats. While it is fair to say that comparisons to other projects such as HS2 do not bear much scrutiny (this would be a buried pipeline like gas and some electricity), there will be impacts, particularly where above-ground infrastructure is involved, and these impacts should be given as much attention as possible.
As always, we stress that Moorlands Climate Action does not have a group view on whether the benefits of the Peak Cluster project for climate targets outweigh its many costs. Instead, we seek to guide Moorlanders to as many sources of information as possible, in order that they may make up their own minds. This article attempts to set out the framework in which ecological impacts will be considered.
From the Cauldon site (where there would be a large CCS plant) the pipeline is planned to stretch to Leek, where it swings around to the north, and then out across the Moorlands to Cheshire. The indicative corridor for the line went out to the public in the first round of consultation in January 2026. While the final route of the line itself will not take up the whole of the corridor, and there may be alterations within the corridor, it is unlikely, in the Moorlands at least, that there will be any significant changes to the route itself arising from the consultation. This is an infographic of how they will build the pipeline.
Read more: Spotlight Summer 2026 - Peak Cluster: the Effects of the...
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See the full report for HuG 2026 by clicking the link below.
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It's been a busy few months for Moorlands Climate Action, coinciding with unprecedented heatwaves, wildfires and drought. The need for groups like Moorlands Climate Action has never been more pertinent, as the reality of Climate Change is mirrored by the increase in climate denial.
Leek and District Show - We were fortunate to be offered a last minute upgrade to a larger 'Premium' pitch adjacent to the main ring and were kept busy all day with a steady stream of visitors. The bigger stall meant we had space for a wide range of displays and games - it was certainly our busiest Leek Show.
Working with SMDC - For some months, we have been talking with the Climate Officers at SMDC, to look at how we can raise awareness of the range of work they are doing and how the wider community can be part of their work. We considered that it would be appropriate to look at the various elements of the Adaptation work stream - how we can build resilience into our daily lives to protect ourselves from the worst impact of climate change. Building on the existing Staffordshire strategy and national A Well-Adapted UK, we are taking part in an initial workshop next month, with a view to a wider public event in the future. If you have a specific interest or experience in Adaptation, please get in touch.
People's Emergency Briefing - Adrian has led on the work to organise and present three viewings of the People's Emergency Briefing in Cheadle, Leek and Endon, and this is covered elsewhere in the newsletter. It was good to be invited onto the panel at the Stoke viewing, along with local MP Gareth Snell, and encouraging to see that the movement is building momentum.
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MCA is proud to support the National Emergency Briefing campaign for there to be a live televised national briefing, introduced by the Prime Minister and delivered by independent experts, so that the whole country can be fully informed about the climate risks we face and the solutions available.
As part of this campaign, we have hosted three screenings of the People’s Emergency Briefing in June at venues in Cheadle, Leek and Endon. The screenings were attended by around 150 people who were invited to hear the latest evidence on the climate and nature crisis and to discuss how to respond. Our local MPs were invited to the screenings along with County and District councillors. Disappointingly only a handful of district councillors were able (or willing) to attend.
The discussions that took place following the film contained a mixture of frustration at the recent fracturing of the previous political consensus and hope that momentum could be regained as well as exchanges of ideas and actions that individuals and communities could take.
One ‘Call to Action’ from the film was for people to sign the parliamentary petition calling for the Government to hold the UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks. It is pleasing to report that the petition achieved the milestone of 100,000 signatures in early August which means that the Petitions Committee will consider it for debate in Parliament. Thank you to everyone in the Staffordshire Moorlands who added their signature.
Screenings continue to be held across Staffordshire, including at B-Arts in Stoke on 19th August where MCA Chair, Mike Jones, was invited to be on the panel. The event attracted over 100 attendees including the MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, Gareth Snell. Gareth concluded the session with very supportive speech and promised to encourage his neighbouring MPs to engage with the issues we face.
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Li, N., Unluer, C. Towards a net zero built environment: decarbonisation of the UK cement industry. npj Mater. Sustain. 3, 10 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44296-025-00052-0. Fig. 6 | Decarbonisation of the UK cement industry. a Technology decarbonisation roadmap.
Decarbonising the cement industry is a global issue that is intensely local. Cement (and concrete) are responsible for between 7% and 8% of worldwide CO2 emissions, just 1.5% of emissions in the UK, but around 25% in Staffordshire Moorlands and High Peak. The exceptionally high local figures reflect the concentration of the industry in the district; the relatively low UK figures partly reflect our increasing reliance on imports, some from countries with no decarbonisation plans in place.
The path to emission reduction chosen by the UK government and the industry involves increasing carbon taxes, partially subsidising the industry’s investment in carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS), while protecting it from ‘dirty’ imports via the European Carbon Adjustment Mechanism.
It is often overlooked that even the government and the cement industry accept that CCUS technology can only be part of the solution and that alternative products and better construction practices play as important a role in the path to Net Zero. That said, many people argue that the cement industry needs to transform itself more fundamentally instead of using expensive CCUS technology to continue ‘business as usual’.
There certainly are potential alternatives to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and this article provides links to some of them. There is no doubt that CCUS does lessen the pressure on the cement industry to investigate other, low-carbon products. But retooling a whole industry as well as much of the construction trade involves far deeper issues than technological breakthroughs, in particular:
Read more: Are ‘Green’ Alternatives to Traditional Cement Production...
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Over 100 Repair Cafés from across the UK came together in Parliament on 25 March, to meet with MPs and call for the Government to introduce a Right to Repair. Moorlands Repair Café was there again and networked with other groups to share ideas and resources; it was so good to hear how other groups had developed and Mike came back with lots of ideas!
The event attracted 90+ MPs, including Karen Bradley MP, who pledged her support for the work we do in the Moorlands and promised to back the campaign. Dr Allison Gardner MP (Stoke South) has also pledged to support the campaign and went further when she signed the UK Repair & Reuse Declaration at last year’s event - thank you.
This was the third year in a row that Restart had teamed up with Back Market to invite MPs to get hands on and talk about why repair and reuse matter. And it represented real progress.
Representatives from more than 100 of the UK’s community repair groups were invited and there was a school group there with Team Repair who demonstrated how their kits are teaching young people how to repair, in addition to instances of beloved items being repaired.
Many MPs signed up to the Repair and Reuse Declaration - a number that grew during the event from 112 MPs at the start, to a whopping 143 by the end, boosted by the 91 MPs who came to the event. Many of these MPs either signed the declaration or offered to support Restart’s ongoing efforts to secure strong policy to support repair – or both.
- Sixth HuG Festival This June
- Peak Cluster Carbon Capture and Storage
- Spotlight Winter 2026 - A Wassailing We Did Go...
- A great way to close a fantastic year - our Annual Meeting of our Members
- Spotlight Autumn 2025 - Looking Back, Looking Forward
- Spotlight Summer 2025 - Connecting with Nature
- Brilliant Day for All at HuG 2025
- Attenborough’s Ocean Film Comes to Leek
- Changing Times – a personal note from our Co-ordinator
- Spotlight Spring 2025 - Stemming the Tide?
- Fifth HuG Festival Bigger Than Ever
- Spotlight Winter 2025 – What can WE do about river pollution?