Local Community Benefit Sharing Mechanisms for CCS Projects

Abstract

This paper explores experience and options available to CCS project developers for local community benefit sharing. Project developers across the energy, mining and waste sectors are increasingly focused on enhancing local benefits, by maximising direct and indirect positive local impacts associated with a development, and also through specific community investment programs. In the context of a CCS project, benefit sharing needs to be considered particularly at the storage stage, which frequently harbours the greatest public concerns around perceived health, safety and environmental risk, yet typically receives few direct or indirect local benefits (such as employment or local procurement) that stem from project activities. Developers need to think creatively about how to fill the ‘benefits gap’ at the storage stage and how, in turn, to create a value proposition for the community hosting the CO 2 storage site. A variety of approaches were identified with the potential to increase the attractiveness of a proposed CCS project to storage communities, including: • Direct revenue sharing (for commercially driven projects); • Distribution of direct benefits typically experienced in the capture stage (including employment, procurement of local goods and services, and infrastructure construction) across the CCS chain; and • Development and implementation of specific community investment programs. Community investment should be approached in a strategic way in order to ensure projects financed by the fund have a positive impact on the community, and are sustainable in the long-term. Principles for a successful and sustainable community investment program include: involving multiple local stakeholders in the planning and management of the fund; having a set of principles and objectives governing the fund; allowing the community to guide how funding should be spent; and using indicators to measure the success of the fund and projects over time. Such principles for a ‘strategic approach’ should apply to any community investment and benefit sharing program.