Ana Prades

In this viewpoint we intend to argue two things. First, that any attempt at effective communication must consider not only the causes and effects of climate change, but also the political measures proposed to address those causes and effects, since both influence public perceptions and behaviours. Second, that it is necessary to better understand the processes by which citizens make sense of climate change, as well as the role that their position in the social structure plays in shaping such perceptions. According to our recent research, the most sceptical or denialist people ignore the problem due to their (perceived) difficulties to change ways of life, and this implies that any attempt to modify this perception should go beyond climate change policies in the strict sense, considering other political measures to compensate these (perceived) deficits and help people to be able to consider a change of ways of life.

The aim of this paper is to share our approach for a societal engagement and participation process that is implemented as part of two sequential research projects on CCUS. The two projects are both funded under the European Union’s (EU) Horizon 2020 research program. The first one, STRATEGY CCUS (2019-2022), develops strategic development plans for eight regions in South-East Europe; the second, Pilot STRATEGY (2021-2026), partly builds on the first project; Pilot STRATEGY aims at enabling three of the eight regions to start developing their storage resources concretely and to support two further regions in continuing to explore CCUS as an option. Both projects were designed in a way that they integrate geological, technical and economic research with social sciences, with a focus on the regional level. The paper provides an overview on the concept, objectives and the methodologies for the engagement process. It further includes reflections identifying room for improvement and provides recommendations for other projects. Overall, we find that the situation is characterized by low levels of awareness regarding CCUS, but some openness to discuss it. Specific expectations vary and the societal view is not always in line with the current scientific knowledge and the technological development. Important recommendations include building strong interdisciplinary teams that also implement processes for self-reflection.

The Internet is increasingly considered as a legitimate source of information on scientific and technological topics. Lay individuals are increasingly using Internet sources to find information about new technological developments, but scientific communities might have a limited understanding of the nature of this content. In this paper we examine the nature of the content of information about fusion energy on the Internet. By means of a content and thematic analysis of a sample of English-, Spanish- and Portuguese-language web documents, we analyze the structural characteristics of the webs, characterize the presentation of nuclear fusion, and study the associations to nuclear fission and the main benefits and risks associated to fusion technologies in the Web. Our findings indicate that the information about fusion on the Internet is produced by a variety of actors (including private users via blogs), that almost half of the sample provided relevant technical information about nuclear fusion, that the majority of the web documents provided a positive portrayal of fusion energy (as a clean, safe and powerful energy technology), and that nuclear fusion was generally presented as a potential solution to world energy problems, as a key scientific challenge and as a superior alternative to nuclear fission. We discuss the results in terms of the role of Internet in science communication.

This article, grounded in an empirical study carried out in the Tarragona petrochemical complex (Spain), explores how key actors operating in this specific social and organizational context perceive petrochemical communication activities. Data compiled from a set of interviews with stakeholders and focus group discussions with citizens were analysed from an interpretative perspective in an effort to capture underlying situationally specific logics. The results enabled us to discuss the advantages and limitations of different theoretical models of petrochemical communication, providing elements for a critique of overly simplistic normative models of risk communication. We highlight the potential contribution of interpretative research to the social perception of petrochemical risk and its implication in petrochemical communication processes.

This paper reports on a review of the empirical evidence about lay perceptions of nuclear fusion. It does so in the light of the wider social science