Engaging the Public with CCUS: Reflection on a European Project Approach

The aim of this paper is to share our approach for a societal engagement and participation process that is implemented as part of two sequential research projects on CCUS. The two projects are both funded under the European Union’s (EU) Horizon 2020 research program. The first one, STRATEGY CCUS (2019-2022), develops strategic development plans for eight regions in South-East Europe; the second, Pilot STRATEGY (2021-2026), partly builds on the first project; Pilot STRATEGY aims at enabling three of the eight regions to start developing their storage resources concretely and to support two further regions in continuing to explore CCUS as an option. Both projects were designed in a way that they integrate geological, technical and economic research with social sciences, with a focus on the regional level. The paper provides an overview on the concept, objectives and the methodologies for the engagement process. It further includes reflections identifying room for improvement and provides recommendations for other projects. Overall, we find that the situation is characterized by low levels of awareness regarding CCUS, but some openness to discuss it. Specific expectations vary and the societal view is not always in line with the current scientific knowledge and the technological development. Important recommendations include building strong interdisciplinary teams that also implement processes for self-reflection.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Municipalities as promoters of electric mobility? A survey study in Germany

The use of electric vehicles (EVs) has the potential to make the transport system more sustainable and to improve the quality of life in local communities. Municipalities are an important player in the market diffusion of EVs as they can promote and implement electric mobility in various ways, e.g. in their own fleets or municipally-owned companies. They are also in a position to create the conditions that make electric mobility more attractive, not only to local companies, but also residents. This includes supporting the development and expansion of infrastructure, e.g. charging stations. Furthermore, they can act as information brokers and thereby enhance levels of awareness and knowledge. We conducted a survey of 540 German municipalities with 5,000 inhabitants or more, including all major cities in Germany. The survey aimed to examine which fields of action are the most promising from the point of view of municipalities, and which structural factors influence their decision to engage in this topic. We found that electric mobility is an important topic for German municipalities: More than 80% are already active in this field, another 10% are planning activities. To analyse the degree of activity in more detail, we developed an activity index comprising different fields. This indicates that the majority of municipalities are classified as having only an intermediate or low level of activity. Electric mobility is primarily an environmental and transport issue as well as an image issue. The expansion of charging infrastructure and the electrification of municipal fleets are the dominant fields of activity. We identified several structural factors that can help to predict the activity of municipalities in the field of electric mobility. These include variables concerning population, population growth as well as urbanisation and density indicators