Communicating about CCS: tools and case studies

Communicating about CCS Webinar for Global CCS Institute Peta Ashworth, Group Leader, Science into Society & Anne Maree Dowd, Senior Social Scientist 16th August 2012

CSIRO EARTH SCIENCE AND RESOURCE ENGINEERING

Three years in 30 minutes! • Overview & Acknowledgements

• Communicating for CCS Workshop, Paris 2009

• International Comparison of Public Outreach

• Social Site Characterisation

• Evaluating Global CCS Communication Materials

• Communicating the risks of CCS

• How Australians Value Water

• Understanding How Individuals Perceive CO2

• Closing thoughts – informed decision making

Communicating about CCS

Acknowledgements •My team at CSIRO: Anne Maree Dowd, Talia Jeanneret, Shelley Rodriguez, Angela Colliver (Education)

•Sarah Wade: Wade LLC, Washington, USA

•Judith Bradbury, Gretchen Hund: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Battelle, USA

•Sallie Greenberg: University of Illinois, USA

•David Reiner, Olaf Corry: Cambridge University, England

•Simon Shackley & team: University of Edinburgh, Scotland

•Marjolein de best Waldhober & team: ECN, the Netherlands

•Dancker Daamen, University of Leiden, the Netherlands

•Kenshi Itaoka & team: Mizuho Research Institute, Japan

•Edna Einsiedel & team, University of Calgary, Canada


The projects

1. Conference on Communication – Paris, November, 2009

2. International Comparison of Public Outreach Cases

3. Synthesize Existing Materials Database on communication activities

Evaluation of communication materials

4. Social Site Characterisation

5. Communicating Risk Assessments

6. Extension to FENCO* work

7. CCS Stakeholder Day – Tokyo, November, 2010

8. Understanding How Individuals Perceive CO2

*FENCO = Fossil Energy Coalition Network


The Projects

9. Conducting a Large Group Process in Canada, Netherlands & Scotland

10. Identifying public perceptions to CCS using ICQ

11. Understanding Sources of Opposition to CCS Media Analysis

Attitudes of Environmental Activists to CCS

12. CCS Education Materials

13. CCS Flagship projects in Australia Collie Hub – Large group process

DPI Victoria – Series of focus groups

Report on How Australian’s Value Water


The Paris Workshop, November 2009

In total 98 participants from 17 countries attended. Key themes:

1. Setting CCS in the context of other energy options

2. Importance of language used

3. Tailoring for different audiences

4. The importance of process and early involvement

5. Multiple sources of information for increased credibility


International Comparison of Public Outreach

Best practice in communications and outreach alone are not sufficient to ensure successful CCS project deployment.

A project’s ability to adjust its planning and management to its social context is more likely to ensure a positive outcome for all involved.

Successful projects integrate communication and outreach as a critical component of the project from the beginning.


International Comparison of Public Outreach

1. To what extent are the key government (national, state, local) and project team members aligned?

2. Can the project developer affect the situation and enhance coordination and a shared agenda?

3. Are communication experts/staff included as an integral part of the project team from the outset of the project?

4. To what extent are factors related to social context included in:

– Selection of a specific site

– Project design and implementation

5. What degree of flexibility does the project developer have in framing and adjusting the implementation of the project?


Communication and Engagement Toolkit

• Synthesizing the findings from case studies to

assist in the design and management of

communciation and engagement activities

around CCS projects worldwide

• Universal guide for CCS implementors:

– to use at different stages & in various ways

– including methods & examples

– practical and informative

• Content:

– Gathering social data

– Stakeholder engagement

– Communication plan

Social Site Characterisation

1. Stakeholder identification

2. Data interpretation and use

3. What are the information needs – If missing information will seek from those around them, particularly those

with similar views or those they trust

– Frequent misconceptions : understanding of scale, pressure effects, nature of storage space

4. What are the concerns and perceptions?

- Not always technical risks but broader social factors

5. What are the best options for outreach and engagement

Conducting Social Site Characterization

CSIRO. Science into Society Group

Evaluating Global CCS Communication Materials


Some of the findings: •Focus is still on CCS and how it works, rather than how it might be made to work

•Transport is the invisible technology

•There is a heavy reliance on climate change as the sole rationale for justifying CCS

•A large majority of CCS materials is overtly positive

•The internet and English language remains the main focus for CCS communication

•There is a lack of publicly available CCS education materials

•The one size fits all approach limits the usefulness to many groups


Communicating the risks of CCS

Pertinent project characteristics: Historic and economic ties Major employer, well paid jobs, support to local economy and tax base

Communicating with company employees

Project hosts present and active in the community well before CCS project was initiated

Emphasis on community relations Significant experience communicating and working with local stakeholders with

dedicated community relations staff

Context Need for fossil fuels and potential benefits of CCS not in dispute

Less on climate change but recognition that regulatory constraints on CO2 could affect business and local economy in the future

Structure of the project team Engagement led by host company


Key Findings

1. Recognise the risks to the projects are likely broader than just the technical risks and commit up front to a comprehensive plan to address them.

2. Be open respectful and responsive to the public.

3. Be proactive in the sense of planning ahead about issues that could potentially arise.

4. Prepare for media interactions.

5. Use appropriate visual aids and analogies to help communicate concepts to the public and keep them simple.


How Australians Value Water

People perceive diverse values in water:

• economic and practical

•ecological

•aesthetic and recreational

•religious in nature


Protesters who gathered in Griffith at a

forum over the water plans. Photo: Kate

Geraghty Read more:

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-

change/the-lie-of-the-land-20101025-

170xc.html#ixzz1uHMsjU8Y

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/the-lie-of-the-land-20101025-170xc.html
















These values are impacted by various demographic categories and interpersonal differences. For example:

•Professional identity

•Residential location

•Cultural and religious heritage

•Risk perception

•Environmental and ecological values



Recommendations:

1. Continue to inform and monitor arguments being made about impacts on water by CCS and other similar industries (UCG, CSG)

2. Understand the priority local communities place on water and how and what they may be willing to trade off between such priorities

3. Ensure technical conversations about water at the local level acknowledge the various values individuals place on water

4. Engage in a conversation regarding risk and benefit that encompasses a broader scope of concerns than the technical likelihood or improbability of danger to aquifers due to of CO2 leakage.


Understanding how individuals perceive CO2

Rationale 1. Climate change and technologies, such as CCS, make reference

to carbon dioxide (CO2)

2. General public’s knowledge and understanding of CO2 properties influences how they engage with carbon emitting industries and technologies

3. There has been little research that has investigated public perceptions, knowledge and understanding of CO2


Understanding how individuals perceive CO2 Key Aims 1. Explore the public’s knowledge and understanding of the

properties of CO2

2.Examine the influence of that knowledge on their perceptions of CO2 and CCS

3.Investigate how information provision about the underlying properties and characteristics of CO2 influences individual attitudes towards CCS

4.Identify if any differences between countries exist in relation to values and beliefs, knowledge of CO2’s properties, and CCS perceptions.


CO2 Properties

CO2 Sources

CO2 Uses

CO2 Effects

Effects of information provision

Two analysis (ANOVA and Regression analysis) are conducted to investigate factors related to the change of opinions

Dependent variables

Changes (differences) of opinions of three different types of CCS (CCS implementation in their country, their neighbourhood (onshore) and in the seabed under the nearest sea (offshore) ) between first and second assessment

Independent variables

Information packages (ANOVA)

Importance measurements of the pieces of information (Regression analyses)

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Effects of Information provision 1. Provided information packages describing CO2’s characteristics (A) Positive influence on opinions of all types of CCS implementations, especially

information on CO2’s properties and sources

2. Provided information packages describing natural phenomena including CO2 (B) Negative influence on opinions of all types of CCS implementations, especially

information on Mt. Mammoth and on the paint factory accident ; however, positive effects of information on hot springs on opinions

3. Provided information packages describing CO2’s behaviour during CCS (C) Negative influence on attitudes toward CCS implementation in any location except

for offshore CCS.

Particularly strong negative influence of information regarding microearthquakes and the possibility of CO2 leakage through cracks in caprock, while information regarding existing CO2 transportation activity provided positive effects.


Recommendations

1. Effort to promote dialogue and understanding of CCS should include information on CO2’s properties and chemistry

2. Topics deemed important by respondents should be addressed by communicators

3. Care should be taken in describing: – CO2 natural phenomena

– Behaviour of CO2in the CCS process

4. Many members of the public still require basic information on climate change, CCS, and their relationship to CO2 emissions.

5. Additional CCS education and outreach campaigns should be planned through less-formal mechanisms.


Informed decision making

Requires understanding the values, objectives, and concerns of affected parties(stakeholders).

1. Most people are unsure about how they feel about proposed alternatives

2. Minimal understanding of broader context in which decisions must be made;

3. Unclear about how their values will be affected;

4. Prone to judgmental biases;

5. Ill-equipped (or unwilling) to address the required tradeoffs. Source: Joe Arvai, University of Calgary


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Communicating about CCS: tools and case studies