Social Science Insights for the BioCCS Industry

Abstract

BioCCS is a technology gaining support as a possible emissions reduction policy option to address climate change. The process entails the capture, transport and storage of carbon dioxide produced during energy production from biomass. Globally, the most optimistic energy efficiency scenarios cannot avoid an average temperature increase of +2 °C without bioCCS. Although very much at the commencement stage, bioCCS demonstration projects can provide opportunity to garner knowledge, achieve consensus and build support around the technology's properties. Yet many challenges face the bioCCS industry, including no guarantee biomass will always be from sustainable sources or potentially result in carbon stock losses. The operating environment also has no or limited policies, regulations and legal frameworks, and risk and safety concerns abound. Some state the key problem for bioCCS is cultural, lacking in a 'community of support', awareness and credibility amongst its own key stakeholders and the wider public. Therefore, the industry can benefit from the growing social science literature, drawing upon other energy and resource based industries with regard to social choice for future energy options. To this end, the following scoping review was conducted in order to ascertain gaps in existing public perception and acceptance research focusing on bioCCS.

Striving towards the Deployment of Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS): A Review of Research Priorities and Assessment Needs

“…However, the degree to which risk perceptions of BECCS can affect the technology's deployment or cause other issues of acceptability, has not yet been defined [26,35,67]. The presentation of CCS as a standalone technology does not favor its acceptance [67]. However, it is more likely to be appreciated if approached from a social perspective and demonstrated as a portfolio of low-carbon energy technologies [58].…”

“…The reduction of carbon through conventional CCS (with fossil fuels) is more recognizable than BECCS, which seems to have a far less public profile despite its mitigation potential [67]. Vergragt and Markusson et al, declare that the predominant problem for BECCS is cultural, due to a deficiency in a 'community of support', lacking awareness and reliability amongst its own key stakeholders, and the wider public [30].…”

“…It is commonly believed that public opinion will have an effect on the success of BECCS, while negative viewpoints of CCS and/or biomass are considered likely to undermine the technology's uptake. However, it is expected that biomass combined with CCS could be supported to a greater extent by public, than each of the technologies individually [29,67].…”

“…A lot of research conducted to date regarding public opinion of CCS with fossil fuel has provided meaningful insights in order to figure out risk perceptions that affect public acceptance of the technology. However, the degree to which risk perceptions of BECCS can affect the technology's deployment or cause other issues of acceptability, has not yet been defined [26,35,67]. The presentation of CCS as a standalone technology does not favor its acceptance [67].…”

“…Although our review identified several studies focusing on bioenergy, little evidence exists in the literature concerning public perceptions of BECCS. To this end, key actions to increase public awareness of BECCS include: (1) an EU roadmap towards 2050; (2) formation of research groups that focus on BECCS; (3) BECCS specific centers and networks; (4) the organization of seminars and workshops that will benefit scientists, the public, and potential stakeholders; (5) directing dedicated BECCS research and development; (6) the provision of demonstration support, along with specific incentive programmes [25,67]. Despite the expansion of both CCS and bioenergy communities, the connection between them remains relatively weak.…”