Lina Lefstad

This thesis examines the governance of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology in its current phase of policy-driven deployment within European climate policy. Positioned in the gap between established critique of CCS and its newly central role in binding net-zero strategies, my research adopts a critical-pragmatic stance to acknowledge that CCS is a contentious technology embodying risks of carbon lock-in and mitigation deterrence, while simultaneously recognising its political inevitability for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors within the post-Paris Agreement context. My research aim is to offer a constructive critique of CCS governance by asking how deployment can be aligned with climate justice principles. I employ three theoretical lenses; the concept of imaginaries diagnoses the dominant vision driving CCS policy, revealing a “techno-market” imaginary that frames CCS as an inevitable, cost-efficient market commodity. A cosmopolitan climate justice framework, grounded in the equity principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement provides the moral compass to evaluate this imaginary. Finally, a political economy of decarbonisation-lens analyses the governance structures, specifically the roles of state and market, that enact this vision. Through a multi-method qualitative approach including systematic literature reviews, comparative policy analysis and expert interviews, this research analyses the Norwegian and European Union policy architecture. The findings demonstrate that the current dominant governance model, predicated on the techno-economic imaginary, is structurally misaligned with CCS’s material realities and ethical imperatives. This manifests in three core trends, namely through depoliticisation of the need for CCS, a gatekeeper problem with incumbent industry and lastly, how the market has so far failed to scale. In response, I argue for a conscious re-imagining of CCS governance through a shift from a market-commodity to a public-good model. In conclusion, this research contributes a timely, justice-centred framework for governing a contentious but important technology. The findings suggest CCS has successfully completed its phase as a “show pony” by proving technical feasibility and securing political mandate. For it to now become an effective “working horse” for decarbonisation, its governance must be reoriented around public stewardship and cosmopolitan justice principles, moving beyond a sole market logic to ensure just and effective large-scale deployment.