Current CO 2 Capture and Storage Trends in Europe in a View of Social Knowledge and Acceptance. A Short Review.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) has reached a higher level of emissions in the last decades, and as it is widely known, CO₂ is responsible for numerous environmental problems, such as climate change. Thus, there is a great need for the application of CO₂ capture and storage, as well as of CO₂ utilization technologies (CCUS). This review article focuses on summarizing the current CCUS state-of-the-art methods used in Europe. Special emphasis has been given to mineralization methods/technologies, especially in basalts and sandstones, which are considered to be suitable for CO₂ mineralization. Furthermore, a questionnaire survey was also carried out in order to investigate how informed about CO₂ issues European citizens are, as well as whether their background is relative to their positive or negative opinion about the establishment of CCUS technologies in their countries. In addition, social acceptance by the community requires contact with citizens and stakeholders, as well as ensuring mutual trust through open communication and the opportunity to participate as early as possible in the development of actions and projects related to CO₂ capture and storage, at all appropriate levels of government internationally, as citizens need to understand the benefits from such new technologies, from the local to the international level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]