Integrated Sustainability Assessment of CCS – Identifying Non-technical Barriers and Drivers for CCS Implementation in Finland

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to discuss the sustainability of CCS technologies from a cross-disciplinary point of view. Due to the complex nature of the current sustainability challenges, such as climate change, which is the key driver for the development of CCS, trans-disciplinary research approaches are required to ensure that all relevant knowledge from disciplines and actor groups related to the problem is incorporated. The findings of the paper are based on a sustainability assessment conducted as part of a Finnish research project Carbon Capture and Storage Program (CCSP). The findings are analysed and integrated using the PESTEL framework, in which most important drivers and barriers having an impact on the general environment and on the potential implementation of CCS technologies in Finland are analysed. The results of the PESTEL analysis indicate that significant barriers at the moment lie in the economic and legal categories. Instead of fossil energy production, carbon capture and utilisation, or bio-CCS could perhaps be viable solutions in Finnish conditions. However, barriers related to price and legal framework would need to be overcome in these cases. Clear policy drivers could act as motivators for the industry and for the academia to continue development of the most potential and promising solutions, and would require ensuring availability of funding for pilot scale demonstrations. However, decision to invest in CCS is not only a technological, economical or legal question, but also an environmental, social, and even ethical question that relates to public acceptance and on the principles of sustainable development. In future, more attention should be paid to the interrelatedness of social and technical aspects of CCS, since open questions regarding the role and potential of CCS in moving towards low carbon future in Finland remain.