Perceptions of Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage in Different Policy Scenarios

Summary/Abstract

There is growing interest in bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) as a possible technology for removing CO₂ from the atmosphere. In the first study of its kind, this paper investigates whether and how different forms of incentivisation impact on public perceptions of this technology. The paper develops a new experimental method to triangulate perceptions of BECCS in different policy scenarios through quantitative measurement and qualitative elicitation, showing that the type of policy instrument used to incentivize BECCS significantly affects perceptions of the technology itself. The paper finds that approval of coercive and persuasion-based policy scenarios for incentivisation, supportive instruments proved polarizing. Payments based on the amount of CO₂ removed from the atmosphere were approved, but guarantees of higher prices for producers selling energy derived from BECCS were strongly opposed. The authors conclude that public support for BECCS is inextricably linked to attitudes towards the policies through which it is incentivized.