Under the proposed framework, new coal power stations must demonstrate at least 300 megawatts net of CCS and retrofit full CCS within five years of the technology being "independently judged as technically and commercially proven".

The UK minister for energy and climate change, Ed Miliband, also stated that the proposed framework will be subject to the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) process required by EU directive 2001/42 on the assessment of certain plans and programmes on the environment. This is welcome news.

An SEA is required for any plan that sets a framework for granting development consents in specific sectors such as energy. During the SEA process, the UK government must prepare an environmental report and consider reasonable alternatives to its proposed framework.

We have argued for some time that the government cannot lawfully adopt any plan that would allow new 'capture ready' coal power stations to be consented without an SEA. The challenge now is to ensure the SEA is robust and considers the latest scientific evidence on climate change.

CCS has the potential to cut power station emissions by 90%. We believe the evaluation of the reasonable alternatives should look at a best practicable environmental option based only on new coal power stations with full CCS operating from the outset.

The variables to be tested include the types of CCS technology to be demonstrated and whether this is done on new or existing power stations. The detail of what will happen in the 2020s will also be critical, especially if CCS is not proven as or when expected.

By Karla Hill, senior legal adviser, ClientEarth