Print media representations of carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technology in China

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a climate change mitigation technology which has had a rather chequered history in British policy making and in the British public sphere. This article deals with the neglected topic of representations of CCS in the British media and their possible impact on public perceptions and public policy. Public perception of CCS is shaped in part by the media which provide tools for making sense of complex technological and political issues such as CCS. This article compares articles on CCS in two UK newspapers, one national (“The Times”) and one regional (“The Aberdeen Press and Journal”) in 2011, a year during which some of the last battles over CCS demonstration projects were fought. It applies frame and metaphor analysis to a corpus of 150 articles. Findings reveal that during 2011 CCS coverage moved through a cycle of hype and disillusionment, with both newspapers reaching a trough of disappointment at the end of 2011. It will be difficult to reignite interest in CCS in this context, both in terms of media and public attention, and in terms of policy and investment. Regional confidence in national CCS policy in particular will be difficult to recover.

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The takeover of science communication: how science lost its leading role in the public discourse on carbon capture and storage research in daily newspapers in Germany

Geoscience Communication ◽

10.5194/gc-2-69-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 69-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Simon Schneider

Keyword(s):

Media Coverage ◽

Carbon Capture ◽

Science Communication ◽

Public Discourse ◽

Carbon Capture And Storage ◽

Steel Production ◽

Media Representations ◽

Daily Newspapers ◽

And Storage

Abstract. CCS (carbon capture and storage) is an important issue within the context of climate-change mitigation options and has played a major role in the agendas of scientists, researchers, and engineers. While media representations of CCS in Germany from 2004 to 2014 demonstrated the significant mediatization of the topic, this cannot be ascribed to science. Instead, CCS media coverage in Germany has been dominated by other stakeholder groups. While CCS is linked to various industry sectors, such as cement and steel production, the German debate has dominantly focussed on the coal and energy branches. This study looks at the role of science and science public relations (PR) within the German public debate by analysing the media coverage of CCS in daily newspapers from 2004 to 2014. If science wishes to remain proactive within science communication, new approaches for future science PR have to be deduced to strengthen, once again, the role of science communication. Among these approaches, it is important to pursue a more differentiated understanding of target audiences and regional concerns. Science PR has to accept that science itself is no longer the only stakeholder and actor within science communication.

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