Capturing Public Trust: Social Acceptance of CCS in Poland

The document argues that social acceptance is a critical bottleneck for CCS deployment in Poland, where public awareness is low and skepticism is high. It highlights the risk of 'NIMBY' (Not In My Back Yard) and 'WIMBY' (Why In My Backyard?) attitudes, drawing parallels to the historical failure of onshore wind development in Poland. Through international case studies from Japan, Norway, and Australia, the brief demonstrates that transparency, early engagement, and tangible local benefits are essential for securing a 'social licence to operate.' It recommends that the Polish government implement mandatory early community engagement, public data sharing, and benefit-sharing mechanisms to ensure the technology is accepted as a tool for industrial decarbonisation and job retention.

• Social acceptance is a primary obstacle to CCS in Poland, as projects can face delays or cancellation without a 'social licence to operate,' which is an informal community approval beyond official permits.
• Public awareness of CCS in Poland is very low; a 2024 EKObarometr survey found that 57% of respondents had never heard of the technology, and only 9% knew what it is.
• Polish public opinion is split on local storage; while 64% of people near industrial sites want carbon capture installations, 32% oppose underground storage in their vicinity, 31% support it, and 36% are undecided.
• Safety is the leading concern for Poles regarding CCS, with one-third of EKObarometr survey respondents worrying about CO2 leaks and one-quarter fearing induced seismic events.
• The document identifies a risk of repeating the mistakes of Poland's onshore wind sector, where a lack of community dialogue led to the 2016 'Anti-Wind Turbines Act' and the '10H rule,' which restricted wind investments in up to 99.7% of the country.
• International case studies show that overpromising can destroy trust, as seen in Australia's Gorgon project, while extreme transparency and education, as seen in Japan's Tomakomai project, can win broad acceptance.
• Norway's Northern Lights project demonstrates the value of dedicated public engagement hubs, with its Visitor Centre welcoming over 12,000 visitors from more than 70 countries since 2021.
• Poland possesses a strategic advantage with one of Europe's largest estimated CO2 storage capacities, potentially reaching 15 gigatons in saline aquifers and depleted hydrocarbon fields.

APA

Gładysz, P., & Kupiec, B. (2025). Capturing Public Trust: Social Acceptance of CCS in Poland. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/resource/capturing-public-trust-social-acceptance-of-ccs-in-poland/

Chicago

Gładysz, Paweł, and Bartłomiej Kupiec. Capturing Public Trust: Social Acceptance of CCS in Poland. Clean Air Task Force, 2025. https://www.catf.us/resource/capturing-public-trust-social-acceptance-of-ccs-in-poland/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gładysz |first1=Paweł |last2=Kupiec |first2=Bartłomiej |title=Capturing Public Trust: Social Acceptance of CCS in Poland |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=20 October 2025 |url=https://www.catf.us/resource/capturing-public-trust-social-acceptance-of-ccs-in-poland/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gadysz2025capturing, author = {Gładysz, Paweł and Kupiec, Bartłomiej}, title = {{Capturing Public Trust: Social Acceptance of CCS in Poland}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://www.catf.us/resource/capturing-public-trust-social-acceptance-of-ccs-in-poland/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }