Development of CCS Projects in Poland. How to Communicate with the Local Public?

Poland has made concrete promises to the EU to reduce its CO2 emissions within the next years by a considerable amount. CCS technology could provide a way to reduce CO2 emissions significantly without slowing the country's economic growth. Social acceptance at potential storage sites for CO2 has proven to be decisive for the development of CCS projects in other European countries. Therefore, it is important to gain insight into the perceptions that local stakeholders have with regard to the implementation of CCS in Poland. This paper presents results from risk communication activities which were conducted during the EU FP7 SiteChar project at a prospective CO2 storage site in Poland. These activities included a social site characterization as well as public engagement activities. The aim was to analyze the local public perception of CCS among citizens and stakeholders as well as to inform community representatives and the local public about CCS technology and to involve them in the planning process for the prospective CCS project. The research showed that in local contexts, it is necessary to include local stakeholders directly in planning processes in order to build trust, that a generally positive public climate towards CCS is not sufficient for local acceptance of CCS projects, and that a thorough social site characterization can provide starting points for future communication activities.