Risk communication and public engagement in CCS projects: The foundations of public acceptability

Abstract

This paper posits that an important goal of public engagement for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects as being public and social acceptance for those projects. It argues that acceptability is the end of a long, logical chain of social interactions, which ideally starts with: 1) the public perception of the risks and benefits associated with CCS; moves through 2) effective communication of risks and benefits by project proponents; 3) involves robust and credible measures for public engagement; 4) results in authoritative decision processes that transparently reflect the results of engagement. Each of these components of acceptability is described with respect to both actual experience with CCS projects to date and the relevant literature. Conclusions point to the special importance of full transparency and public understanding of credible risk assessments for these projects.