Energy Research & Social Science 3 (2014) 5–12 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Energy Research & Social Science jou rn al hom epage: www.elsevier.com/locate/erss Original research article Communication approaches for carbon capture and storage: Underlying assumptions of limited versus extensive public engagement Katarina Buhr a,∗ , Victoria Wibeck b,c a IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, P.O. Box 210 60, SE-100 31 Stockholm, Sweden b Centre for Climate Science and Policy Studies (CSPR), Linköping University, SE-601 74 Norrköping, Sweden c Department of Thematic Studies: Water and Environmental Studies, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 22 January 2014 Received in revised form 14 May 2014 Accepted 15 May 2014 Keywords: Carbon capture and storage Communication Public engagement a b s t r a c t A pertinent issue in the literature on communication on emerging technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) concerns the degree to which the public is actively involved in the communication process. While researchers have highlighted the pros and cons of limited versus extensive public engagement, the assumptions underlying various communication approaches have been largely neglected. Illuminating assumptions are important for scholarly understandings of what influences communication and for prac- titioner reflexive awareness in designing communication plans. This paper explores assumptions made about senders and receivers when involving the public to various degrees in CCS communication and how these assumptions relate to different communication objectives. We describe two contrasting commu- nication approaches, the transmission and participatory approaches, relating them to CCS characteristics and research. We find that CCS communication may, deliberately or not, be based on different assump- tions about the social framing of CCS concerning who should formulate the message, the public’s ability to understand complex science, the public’s interest in helping frame CCS, and whether public opinions should be taken into account. These assumptions also relate to different communication objectives – convincing the public or increasing dialogue – implying different communication fora, predictability, and input. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has repeatedly been pointed out by for example the International Energy Agency as a vital technology to decarbonise the energy system and combat climate change. In fact, the agency belongs to those that argue that emis- sion targets cannot be achieved without capturing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) generated by fuel combustion or industrial processes, trans- port it via ships or pipeline and store it underground. Others have highlighted CCS as a contested technology, pointing to the risks of e.g. reinforced fossil fuel lock-in effects (e.g. [1]). Regardless of one’s positions on CCS, however, it has become increasingly apparent that the fate of the technology will largely hinge on how the public perceives it. In several cases, CCS projects have been ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +46 8 598 563 44; fax: +46 8 598 563 90. E-mail addresses: katarina.buhr@ivl.se (K. Buhr), victoria.wibeck@liu.se (V. Wibeck). delayed or cancelled, mostly or partly due to public opposition, including Shell’s project for the onshore storage of carbon dioxide in Barendrecht which was cancelled by the Dutch government in 2010. Many articles have examined public awareness of and attitudes towards CCS, surveying people’s knowledge and opinions of the technology. Others have argued that public resistance to CCS demonstrates the complexities involved in communicating the technology [2]. Some scholars have argued that the high stakes involved in CCS motivates public engagement in dialogues on the pros and cons of the technology (e.g. [3]). Against this backdrop, scholars have called for research into CCS communication [4–6]. So far, the emerging field of research into CCS communica- tion has had an empirical emphasis. Empirical data concerning the communication strategies applied in relation to specific local CCS projects have been collected and analyzed [7,8]. Such research has often aimed to identify the success factors of different commu- nication strategies, while gathering material providing guidelines, toolkits, or best practices for effective communication with the public [9,10]. Other studies have explored and evaluated global or http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2014.05.004 2214-6296/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.