Guidelines for Community Engagement in Carbon Dioxide Capture, Transport, and Storage Projects

The report argues that the deployment of commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) depends significantly on local community acceptance and the quality of the engagement process. It emphasizes that effective engagement is measured by the success of the process itself, rather than whether all parties agree on the project's outcome. The guidelines are designed for three primary stakeholders: project developers, regulators, and local decision-makers, aiming to move beyond simple public education toward a culture of two-way communication to ensure local values and ecosystems are respected while pursuing climate mitigation goals.

• Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is considered a necessary component of a broader portfolio of clean energy technologies to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050.
• While small-scale CCS operations exist in North America and Europe, the technology has not yet been proven at the commercial scale required for power and industrial plants, leading governments to support demonstration projects storing over 1 million metric tons of CO2 annually.
• Project developers often view the public as a barrier to deployment because project viability frequently depends on local community acceptance, with communities often expressing more concern regarding CCS than established industries.
• Effective community engagement is defined by the quality and success of the engagement process, not by whether the developer, regulator, and community reach an agreement on the project's design or outcome.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Guidelines for Community Engagement in Carbon Dioxide Capture, Transport, and Storage Projects. https://www.wri.org/research/guidelines-community-engagement-carbon-dioxide-capture-transport-and-storage-projects

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Guidelines for Community Engagement in Carbon Dioxide Capture, Transport, and Storage Projects. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/guidelines-community-engagement-carbon-dioxide-capture-transport-and-storage-projects.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Guidelines for Community Engagement in Carbon Dioxide Capture, Transport, and Storage Projects |url=https://www.wri.org/research/guidelines-community-engagement-carbon-dioxide-capture-transport-and-storage-projects |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendguidelines, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Guidelines for Community Engagement in Carbon Dioxide Capture, Transport, and Storage Projects}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/guidelines-community-engagement-carbon-dioxide-capture-transport-and-storage-projects}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }