Is societal trust the missing link for a policy and business case for carbon capture, utilisation and storage in a Net-Zero transition?

Join C4U researchers as they present their findings on effective Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) strategies for a net-zero future. We will unravel our brand-new framework, explaining how business, policy and industry depend on each other for the successful implementation of CCS in both the EU and the UK. The framework will help policymakers to identify risks and barriers for the rollout of CCS, as well as to seize opportunities to accelerate its deployment in a consensual manner.

This public event will gather a diverse audience of policymakers and experts, industry leaders, and civil society. It is a crucial opportunity to actively contribute to the current dialogue on CCS in the EU, and to engage with key thought-leaders in the field today. 

Follow the link below to register for the event:

Is societal trust the missing link for a policy and business case for carbon capture and storage in a Net-Zero transition? – CEPS

Background:

There is an increasing consensus that large-scale Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) deployment is required to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. While CCUS technological readiness level(s) is an oft-noted concern, there is an urgent need to take policy, societal and business readiness for CCUS into consideration. The CCUS policy debate in the EU+UK is yet to accommodate the intersectional dynamics between policy, business, and societal systems. Each of the three systems comes with specific, and interrelated, challenges and opportunities to be considered in policy and decision-making processes during the first quartile of 2024. Responding to this context, the Horizon 2020 project C4U has developed a Readiness Framework to assess the policy, business, and societal readiness for CCUS deployment in the EU.

In this event, C4U experts will present their research findings on building readiness towards a net-zero future through effective CCUS strategies. We will unravel our brand-new systemic dynamics framework explaining how business, policy, and industry mutually depend on each other in a successful implementation of CCUS in the EU+UK. This framework will help policymakers to identify risks and barriers for CCUS deployment, as well as to seize opportunities to accelerate CCUS deployment in a consensual manner.

Addressing societal concerns around CCUS implementation is crucial. Foremost, to achieve a smooth net-zero transition, governments and industry need to gain societal trust against the common perceptions of CCUS’ role in the transition. To mention some examples of these perceptions: (a) that CCS is mostly employed for capturing CO2 in natural gas processing and then utilised in enhanced oil recovery; (b) that CCUS is a remedy for symptoms, potentially encouraging the ongoing use of fossil fuels, or (c) that CCUS is a short-term, transitional technology potentially able to reduce CO2 emissions until more effective and sustainable climate-neutral alternatives can be implemented.

If the concerns mentioned above are not addressed and there is no public support and trust, the policies needed for a positive CCUS business case will lack sufficient legitimacy. Industrial firms need such policies for developing a CCUS business case. Policies supporting industrial firms need to provide the key elements for a business model for CCUS: