Perceptions of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage in different policy scenarios.
other · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30765708.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-019-08592-5 and PMC identifier 6375928.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
There is growing interest in bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) as a possible technology for removing CO<sub>2</sub> from the atmosphere. In the first study of its kind, we investigate whether and how different forms of incentivisation impact on public perceptions of this technology. We develop a new experimental method to triangulate perceptions of BECCS in different policy scenarios through quantitative measurement and qualitative elicitation. Here we show that the type of policy instrument used to incentivise BECCS significantly affects perceptions of the technology itself. While we find approval of coercive and persuasion-based policy scenarios for incentivisation, supportive instruments proved polarising. Payments based on the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> removed from the atmosphere were approved, but guarantees of higher prices for producers selling energy derived from BECCS were strongly opposed. We conclude that public support for BECCS is inextricably linked to attitudes towards the policies through which it is incentivised.