The TUC has today urged the government to accelerate plans for a new generation of coal-fired power plants capable of capturing and storing carbon emissions, issuing a report arguing such technologies will have a major role to play in the low carbon economy.

The government has repeatedly signalled its support for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies and today marks the deadline for the pre-qualification stage entries for its competition to develop a coal-fired plant capable of demonstrating the technology.

However, a new report from the TUC's Clean Coal Task Group claims that " ministers' delays to backing the emerging technologies behind clean coal and carbon capture and storage are causing uncertainty and delaying vital investment ".

"Carbon capture and storage can help make coal clean and the government must throw its weight behind the technology," said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber. "Ministers need to show how they intend to boost research and development into carbon capture and storage, build capture ready power plants, and establish a CO2 pipeline infrastructure – all of which would be good for the environment, security of supplies, the economy and employment in the UK."

The report argues that the technology has the potential to cut carbon emissions from coal-fired power stations by between 80 and 90 per cent and calculates that if carbon capture and storage is added to all the coal-fired and gas-fired power plants likely to be built in the UK by 2016, overall carbon emissions from UK power plants could be reduced by 42 per cent by 2025.

It also argues that in addition to reducing carbon emissions, the technology would reduce UK dependence on gas imports, enhancing energy security.

Clean Coal Task Group chairman Mike Farley said that the government had to act urgently to accelerate the development of clean coal and CCS technologies.

"If we are to avoid nearly 60 per cent of our electricity coming from gas by 2016, then new clean coal-power plants need to be built now," he warned. "If these are built capture-ready and if CCS is demonstrated in parallel, we will set the right global example to countries which will continue to use much larger quantities of coal for the next century and longer."