RESUMEN
The development and implementation of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies plays an increasingly important part in European Union (EU) countries' decarbonisation policies and strategies. Several studies have shown the important role social acceptance plays in determining the outcomes of CCUS projects and how social acceptance is shaped by the national and local contexts. Yet most studies on CCUS and social acceptance have focused on a few northern European countries despite the increasing numbers of CCUS projects across the European Union. This study seeks to help address this gap by conducting a case study on how local dynamics shaped people's acceptance and awareness of CCUS in two separate Greek communities. Based on semi-structured interviews with community members near a CCUS pilot plant, and a focus group with community members from a potential storage site, this single case study explores the factors and dynamics that shaped the participants' perceptions of CCUS technologies. Our findings indicate that, despite the low level of awareness of CCUS technologies, participants could draw on their situated knowledge to identify potential drawbacks with their application. We identified scepticism regarding the adoption of new technologies and the organisations involved based on past experiences, and a notable lack of provision of technology and location-specific information as well as public engagement by the project consortium. Our recommendations for future projects and community engagement include the early involvement of the public in project development, location-based transparent information, appropriate channels to facilitate knowledge exchange, and educational initiatives to build communities' capability to influence projects.
RESUMEN
This manuscript presents a systematic meta-narrative review of peer-reviewed publications considering community acceptance and social impacts of site-specific Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) projects to inform the design and implementation of CCUS projects who seek to engage with communities during this process, as well as similar climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives. A meta-narrative approach to systematic review was utilized to understand literature from a range of site specific CCUS studies. 53 peer-reviewed papers were assessed reporting empirical evidence from studies on community impacts and social acceptance of CCUS projects published between 2009 and 2021. Three separate areas of contestation were identified. The first contestation was on acceptance, including how acceptance was conceptualized, how the different CCUS projects engaged with communities, and the role of acceptance in social learning. The second contestation related to communities: how communities were represented, where the communities were located in relation to the CCUS projects, and how the communities were defined. The third contestation was around CCUS impacts and the factors influencing individuals' perceptions of impacts, the role of uncertainty, and how impacts were challenged by local communities, politicians and scientists involved in the projects. The next step was to explore how these contestations were conceptualised, the aspects of commonality and difference, as well as the notable omissions. This facilitated a synthesis of the key dimensions of each contestation to inform our discussion regarding community awareness and acceptance of CCUS projects. This review concludes that each CCUS project is complex thus it is not advisable to provide best practice guidelines that will ensure particular outcomes. This systematic review shared recommendations in the literature as to how best to facilitate community engagement in relation to CCUS projects and similar place-based industrial innovation projects. These recommendations focus on the importance of providing transparency, acknowledging uncertainty and encouraging collaboration.
