A socio-technical framework for assessing the viability of carbon capture and storage technology Nils Markusson a, ⁎, Florian Kern b,1 , Jim Watson b,2 , Stathis Arapostathis c , Hannah Chalmers d,3 , Navraj Ghaleigh e,4 , Philip Heptonstall f,5 , Peter Pearson c,6 , David Rossati g , Stewart Russell h,7 a School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK b SPRU—Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Sussex, Freeman Centre, Brighton BN1 9QE, UK c Cardiff University, Low Carbon Research Institute, Welsh School of Architecture, Bute Building, King Edward VII Ave., Cardiff CF10 3NB, UK d Institute for Energy Systems, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JL, UK e Edinburgh Law School, South Bridge, Edinburgh EH8 9YL, Scotland, UK f UKERC & ICEPT, Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, Room 328, Mechanical Engineering Building, Exhibition Rd, London, SW7 2AZ, UK g School of Law, The University of Edinburgh, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh EH8 9YL, UK h Institute for the Study of Science, Technology and Innovation, University of Edinburgh, Old Surgeons Hall, Edinburgh EH1 1LZ, UK article info abstract Article history: Received 7 December 2010 Received in revised form 1 November 2011 Accepted 6 December 2011 Available online 4 January 2012 Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is seen as a key technology to tackle climate change. The principal idea of CCS is to remove carbon from the flue gases arising from burning fuels for electricity generation or industrial applications and to store the carbon in geological forma- tions to prevent it from entering the atmosphere. Policy makers in several countries are sup- portive of the technology, but a number of uncertainties hamper its further development and deployment. The paper makes three related contributions to the literatures on socio- technical systems and technology assessment: 1) It systematically develops an interdisciplin- ary framework to assess the main uncertainties of CCS innovation. These include technical, economic, financial, political and societal issues. 2) It identifies important linkages between these uncertainties. 3) It develops qualitative and quantitative indicators for assessing these uncertainties. This framework aims to help decision making on CCS by private and public ac- tors and is designed to be applicable to a wider range of low carbon technologies. The paper is based on a systematic review of the social science literature on CCS and on insights from in- novation studies, as well as on interviews about assessment of new technologies with experts from a range of organisations and sectors. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Carbon capture and storage (CCS) Technology assessment Socio-technical systems Uncertainties Low carbon technology Technological Forecasting & Social Change 79 (2012) 903–918 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 131 650 7010; fax: +44 131 650 7340. E-mail addresses: nils.markusson@ed.ac.uk (N. Markusson), F.Kern@sussex.ac.uk (F. Kern), w.j.watson@sussex.ac.uk (J. Watson), arapostathise@cardiff.ac.uk (S. Arapostathis), hannah.chalmers@ed.ac.uk (H. Chalmers), n.ghaleigh@ed.ac.uk (N. Ghaleigh), philip.heptonstall@imperial.ac.uk (P. Heptonstall), pearsonpj@cardiff.ac.uk (P. Pearson), david.rossati@googlemail.com (D. Rossati), stewart.russell@ed.ac.uk (S. Russell). URL: http://www.lcri.org.uk (P. Pearson). 1 Tel.: +44 1273 872831. 2 Tel.: +44 1273 873539. 3 Tel.: +44 131 650 5600, +44 7888 801020. 4 Tel.: +44 131 650 2069. 5 Tel.: +44 207 594 7309. 6 Tel.: +44 29 20876617, +44 29 20870003. 7 Tel.: +44 131 650 6396. 0040-1625/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2011.12.001 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Technological Forecasting & Social Change