Public engagement of CCS in South Africa

South African Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage (SACCCS) was established in 2009 by the South African government in collaboration with the South African industry and international governments to examine the technical potential for carbon capture and storage (CCS) in South Africa. The current focus of SACCCS is the development of a Test Injection Project in South Africa. Core to delivering this project will be the engagement of the South African public at both a national and local level. CCS public engagement will have some unique challenges in South Africa given the significant diversity of the population with regard to culture, language and economic situation. Given that South Africa is a developing country, communication about CCS technology also needs to be placed in the context of other national priorities such as access to energy, poverty alleviation, job creation and education. In April 2012 a consortium of South African and international consulting and research organisations was appointed as part of the World Bank South African Department of Energy CCS Study. The task of the consortium is to prepare two separate stakeholder engagement plans, a National Plan (NatPlan) and a Local Plan (LocPlan) prior to the commencement of CCS projects in South Africa, including the SACCCS Test Injection Project. This paper will discuss the development of the public engagement strategies at the national and local levels including a discussion of the unique public engagement issues facing CCS in South Africa will be discussed.