A guide for assessing the potential impacts on ecosystems of leakage from CO2 storage sites

Evidence to date indicates that leakage is of low probability if site selection, characterisation and storage project design are undertaken correctly. In Europe, the Storage Directive (EC, 2009) provides a legislative framework, implemented by Member States, which requires appropriate project design to ensure the storage of CO2 is permanent and safe. However, it is incumbent on storage site operators to demonstrate an understanding of the potential impacts on surface ecosystems should a leak occur. The RISCS (Research into Impacts and Safety in CO2 Storage) project has produced a Guide to potential impacts of leakage from CO2 storage (the ‘Guide’). RISCS assessed the potential effects of CO2 leakage from geological storage on both onshore and offshore near-surface ecosystems and on potable ground water. This assessment was achieved through laboratory and field experiments, through observations at sites of natural CO2 seepage and through numerical simulations. The Guide summarises some of the key findings of the project. The Guide provides information on the best approaches to evaluate potential impacts of hypothetical leakage from CO2 storage sites and to provide guidance on appraising these impacts. This information will be relevant to regulators and operators in particular, but also to other stakeholders who are concerned with CO2 storage, such as national and local governments, and members of the public

Public awareness and perceptions of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) : insights from surveys administered to representative samples in six European countries

The representative survey studies provide a comprehensive database on the public awareness and perception of CCS in six selected European countries. Our results provide insights into the public understanding and knowledge of energy related issues and CCS topics. The embedded experimental research provides insights into how information affects CCS perceptions. The results discuss implications for CCS communication methods

A comparison of techniques used to collect informed public opinions about CCS: opinion quality after focus group discussions versus information-choice questionnaires

Both focus group discussions and information-choice questionnaires (ICQs) have previously been used toexamine informed public opinions about carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS). This paper presentsan extensive experimental study to systematically examine and compare the quality of opinions createdby these two research techniques. Depending on experimental condition, participants either participatedin a focus group meeting or completed an ICQ. In both conditions participants received identical factualinformation about two specific CCS options. After having processed the information, they indicated theiroverall opinion about each CCS option. The quality of these opinions was determined by looking at threeoutcome-oriented indicators of opinion quality: consistency, stability, and confidence. Results for allthree indicators showed that ICQs yielded higher-quality opinions than focus groups, but also that focusgroups did not perform poor in this regard. Implications for the choice between focus group discussionsand ICQs are discussed

Scrutinizing the impact of CCS communication on opinion quality : focus group discussions versus Information-Choice Questionnaires : results from experimental research in six countries

Previous research has shown that public knowledge and awareness of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is very limited. As a result, traditional surveys designed to collect public opinions about CCS do in fact assess so-called pseudo opinions. Pseudo-opinions are of very low quality because they are mostly unstable and inconsistent. Therefore, they are not predictive for actual and future public support for or opposition against CCS. As compared to pseudo opinions, opinions expressed after the public has been provided with factual information about CCS are likely to be of higher quality. Focus group discussions and Information-Choice Questionnaires (ICQs) are two research techniques frequently used in the CCS literature that aim to collect such informed public opinions. In this study, we examined which of these two research technique leads to the highest quality opinions (i.e., to opinions that are consistent, stable, and that people are confident about). Our results showed that ICQs yielded higher-quality opinions than focus group discussions. Practical implications and recommendations are discussed