Negotiating acceptability with energy publics through education and public engagement, perceptions of risk and reward in energy transitions

Negotiating public acceptance, and by extension public acceptance, of strategic infrastructure has long informed the research into energy transitions. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon dioxide capture and utilisation (CCU) have increasingly been presented as a potential key contributor to decarbonising the industrial sector, and by extension wider climate change mitigation efforts. However, their impact on those collective efforts to date have been relatively low, with public awareness of the associated technologies relatively low. Where there is awareness, perceptions that the technologies ‘do not work’, a lack of trust in those leading such projects, fear of the risks associated with transport and storage, and concerns of potential environmental damage all inform citizens perceptions of the transformative potential of these technologies. Interestingly, the lack of belief in the ongoing climate crisis is also seen as a notable barrier informing local attitudes. However, social acceptability of CCS and CCU can be greatly facilitated and encouraged through meaningful and constructive engagements with local citizens. Drawing on ongoing research from the REALISE H2020 project, this paper examines the role place for local stakeholders when designing education and public engagement (EPE) programmes and consequently transform often negative perceptions of decarbonisation technologies.