Fixed Amidst Change: 20 Years of Media Coverage on Carbon Capture and Storage in Germany

Abstract

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies are controversially discussed worldwide. Germany is no exception. Here, CO2 storage is banned, although successful pilot plants were installed in the late 2000s. However, the recent burgeoning political interest in this technology prompts us to investigate why and how the (public) image of CCS technologies has changed over time and with regard to different CCS applications. For this purpose, we examine the coverage of CCS in German newspapers over the last 20 years on the basis of a quantitative analysis of about 4000 newspaper articles. A sample of 571 articles with different political orientations was studied qualitatively to analyse reporting on different CCS frames and actors. We find evidence that the media debate is shifting towards the application of CCS for negative emissions technologies and carbon removal. However, the negative image of CCS connected to coal fired power plants persists, suggesting that public and political support remain a problem for a technology fixed in binary negotiations for or against it.