Clean fossil or refuse dump. Results of focus groups with citizens on CO2-storage in depleted natural gas fields

This report gives an account of a meeting with four focus groups - 31 citizens in Total - held at the Rathenau Institute on 7 July 2007. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) in depleted natural gas fields was the main topic. The goal of this meeting was to explore the public opinion on CCS, to gauge their attitude towards new technology and to examine the influence of information services on their opinion. The analysis has resulted in a comprehensive overview of arguments in favor of and against the development of CO2 capture and storage in the Netherlands. The study illustrates how all questions and points of interest can be classified based on three different angles, i.e. (1) the promise of CCS as instrument for handling environmental problems, energy problems and offering economic opportunities for the Netherlands; (2) the implementation process of CCS; and (3) possible side effects of CCS. [mk]