POLICY GROUP Discussion Paper on Public Communication And
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CSLF-P-2005-3 22 August 2005 POLICY GROUP Discussion Paper on Public Communication and Outreach Barbara N. McKee Tel: 1 301 903 3820 Fax: 1 301 903 1591 [email protected] CSLF-P-2005-3 22 August 2005 Discussion Paper on Public Communication and Outreach Note by the Secretariat Background At the meeting of the Policy Group in Melbourne, Australia on September 15, 2004, the Secretariat presented a report that recommended that the Policy Group establish a Public Awareness Outreach Task Force whose activities that would support and not supplant CSLF Members’ activities in this area. This recommendation was accepted, and the Policy Group created a Public Awareness and Outreach Task Force for this purpose with Canada as lead. Other members of this Task Force were the European Commission, France, and the United States. The Task Force was instructed to produce a discussion paper that would then undergo review and be presented at a full Policy Group meeting. This discussion paper is a result of the Task Force’s activities. Action Requested The Policy Group is requested to review and consider the Discussion Paper presented by the Public Awareness and Outreach Task Force. Conclusions The Policy Group is invited to note in the Minutes of its next meeting that: “The Policy Group reviewed and considered the Discussion Paper presented by the Public Awareness and Outreach Task Force.” CSLF-P-2005-3 22 August 2005 PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH A PAPER FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE CSLF POLICY GROUP I. INTRODUCTION II. HISTORY III. CURRENT PRACTICES IV. CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED V. CONSIDERATIONS VI. CONCLUSIONS – RECOMMENDATIONS TO MEMBER COUNTRIES AND THE POLICY GROUP ANNEX 1 – INPUT FROM MEMBER COUNTRIES o AUSTRALIA o CANADA o FRANCE o US I. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to inform the CSLF Policy Group of existing activities, approaches and considerations regarding public communications and outreach around carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS). Recommendations are provided that outline suggested approaches for the development of public communications and outreach programs for discussion/consideration, along with recommendations for the CSLF Policy Group on how to move forward on this issue. II. HISTORY CSLF Policy Group members have noted that public acceptance will be key to the successful deployment of CCS technologies and have expressed that public communications and outreach should be a priority of the group. At the January 2004 Policy Group meeting, the CSLF Secretariat was tasked with developing a short report on public outreach. As a result, in July 2004, the Secretariat prepared a short paper on public awareness and outreach, which was discussed by the Policy Group in September 2004. A few notable discussion highlights are: • There was general agreement that CSLF public outreach activities should support member governments to help them inform their public on issues associated with CCS technologies. • It was suggested that in order to meet its purpose, CSLF public outreach activities should follow the following principles: • Be responsive to the differing needs of Members • Ensure the greatest possible objectivity and credibility in all information • Support members by providing objectivity and credibility in all information • Support members by providing a large and common base of information • Reduce the costs of public outreach through costs sharing • Provide a forum for information exchange among members on public outreach • CSLF Members should be encouraged to implement their respective public outreach plans as soon as possible and share them with each other. In order to further the momentum on this important topic, Canada agreed to coordinate an international effort on public outreach. Working with other members, Canada agreed to prepare a more comprehensive piece for consideration by the Policy Group in September 2005. 1 In March 2005, the CSLF Secretariat sent a message to Policy Group members outlining Canada’s proposed approach and schedule. Input on public communications approaches and materials was solicited from member countries. Canada’s input was provided as an example and additional inputs were received from Australia, France and the US. All of the inputs can be found in Annex 1. This report draws upon all of these inputs. III. CURRENT PRACTICES The Public Communications and Outreach inputs were reviewed and elements that were most commonly noted have been identified as Current Practices. These Current Practices are listed below, along with the main features and salient points associated with each. It should be noted that while some of the practices and materials may be targeted specifically at the public, the approach used in most cases is part of a larger effort to engage and inform a wider group of stakeholders. 1. Development of educational materials. • Fact sheets that address climate change in general, the potential impact of CCS technology as a greenhouse gas mitigation tool, the potential economic benefit associated with enhanced resource recovery due to the use of carbon dioxide, the potential environmental impacts associated with the use of the technology, etc. • Newsletters on events, research updates, etc. 2. Use of websites to convey information. • Wide-spread distribution of educational material, such as fact sheets, reports, newsletters, roadmaps and project specific information • Provide listing of events and associated materials related to carbon dioxide capture and storage • Establish list of interested stakeholders for mail-outs, electronic invitations • Used as a tool for opening lines of communication with key stakeholders 3. Use of websites for two-way communication. • Mechanism for stakeholders to provide feedback and ask questions • Method to conduct focus group testing • Facilitate ‘Interactive Advisory Panels’ and online workshops 2 4. Field project outreach activities. • Development of Community Engagement principles • Important opportunity for targeted outreach activities • Establishment of a dedicated project team to conduct outreach at the site • Best for local people to conduct outreach around specific research projects • Importance of personal contact in securing participation of stakeholders • Press releases, local media coverage, field trips 5. Public attitudes and concerns surveys/focus group studies. • Used to gauge current level of understanding of technology, its use and the impact that it can have as a greenhouse gas mitigation tool, etc. • Used to understand issues and concerns associated with CCS technology • Used to answer targeted questions and shape broader outreach programs 5. Information sharing meetings/briefings/workshops with stakeholders. • Stakeholders were most commonly noted as representatives from industry, research organizations, non-government organizations, various levels of government. • Aimed at increasing awareness of technical, scientific and policy aspects involved in CCS technology. 6. Establishment of Multi-Stakeholder Working Groups. • Stakeholders were most commonly noted as representatives from industry, research organizations, non-government organizations and various levels of government. • Ensure common approach towards public communications and outreach • Opportunity to learn from other initiatives and incorporate ideas 7. Involvement of key government officials. • Important to build support 3 • Help move energy policy and technology solutions to be at the forefront of political debate 8. Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Strategy Documents. • State/provincial/federal level strategy documents on how to address greenhouse gas emissions; places CCS in context with other mitigation/reduction options IV. CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED Important challenges have been identified based on the current practices and experience of countries that are moving ahead on public communications and outreach. The lessons learned to date are outlined below. • CCS is a multifaceted and crosscutting technology that makes education and outreach a challenge as a variety of issues need to be addressed. The complexity of CCS contributes to perceptions of risks and requires thoughtful approaches to sharing information and eliciting concerns. • Generally, CCS is not a well-known technology, and, among those who are informed, there are different points of view regarding it. • Even some who are informed and especially the general public do not know a lot about climate change, let alone CCS. This illustrates the need to provide context around CCS as one tool to address climate change concerns. • Past experience in terms of studies on natural analogues, EOR projects, acid gas injection and storage in saline aquifers provides a large body of knowledge in addressing the concerns in terms of risk, monitoring, measurement and verification and safety. The challenge lies in effectively communicating these results to the public. • Within a country, there is a need to identify regional issues surrounding CCS. For instance, there could be greater resistance to the implementation of carbon sequestration in ecologically sensitive areas while other regions may support the technology based on its economic benefit to the region and the low perceived risk associated with the technology. This highlights the fact that outreach strategies and materials are regionally dependent and an outreach program would need to address regional issues, including local regional regulators. • In addition to identifying regional issues, national issues surrounding carbon sequestration must