Understanding Stakeholder Attitudes to CCS in Victoria, Australia

Abstract

This research was designed to understand how Victorian residents perceive and accept potential carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. In total twelve focus group sessions were conducted across Bairnsdale, Traralgon and Melbourne, Victoria. The results demonstrate there is limited awareness of the technology and a need for information and education on CCS. A proportion of the respondents (more than 32%) had questions of a “technical” nature, suggesting that participants sought additional information while considering their acceptance of CCS technology. The findings suggest that support for CCS is positively influenced by subjective norms, and trust in the information source delivering the message. Many of the participants welcomed the opportunity to be engaged on the topic and provided a number of suggestions on how best to engage the Victorian public on the topic of CCS and energy technologies more broadly.