Towards socially justified subsurface use (JUST). (JUST)

Knowledge gap: assessing the potential social impact of large scale industrial activity, particularly in a planning stage remains a huge challenge, in spite of a vast and growing literature on Social Impact Assessment (SIA) or Social Life Cycle Analysis (SLCA), and continuous and expanding efforts to develop a standardized methodology comparable to environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) (Alomoto et al., 2022). This challenge becomes even bigger in relation to deep subsurface activity, as the link to society is less visible. Attempts to develop generic key social categories and indicators for particular technologies (e.g. Rafiaani et al. (2020) for CCUS) tend to focus on socio-economic indicators such as employment impact, or public health indicators, strongly related to environmental impact indicators. This is partly due to the relatively easy measurability of such indicators, as compared to less tangible and more qualitative issues, such as social capital or cohesion. Objective: we will develop a framework for qualitative social impact analysis as a tool for identifying pathways for impacting (positively or negatively) the social fabric and amenity value of affected communities as plans and projects for subsurface activities develop. Rather than explicitly weighing and predicting these impact, such a framework aims to raise awareness of the evolutive process of the mutual shaping of large scale subsurface projects and their social environment on the surface, and to provide guidance on how to assure a 'just' subsurface policy and planning culture. Task 1: Literature study to collect possible indicators and methods for assessing social impact through stakeholder engagement and pluralistic value judgements with environmental justice as a leading framework. Task 2 Stakeholder mapping: (a) identify relevant actors and potentially affected groups; as well as (b) their perceptions and concerns vis-à-vis potential subsurface activities in their environment; and (c) their interest in and needs regarding participation in the related decisionmaking process [focus on Recognition Justice].

Keywords:STAKEHOLDERS' PERCEPTION, EXHAUSTIBLE RESOURCES, SOCIAL INDICATORS, NATURAL RESOURCES

Disciplines:Agricultural and natural resource economics, environmental and ecological economics, Environmental sociology