Fueling change: the importance of citizen involvement in the discussion on biofuels – webinar slides and recording

On November the 8th the Horizon Europe REFOLUTION project kicked off its webinar series with a deep dive into the topic of social acceptance of biofuels. Moderated by Silje Fosse HΓ₯konsen and organized in collaboration with ETIP Bioenergy and Bio4Fuels Centre, the webinar aimed at shedding light on social awareness as a key to achieving social acceptance on the topic of biofuels.

The event featured presentations by Nina Wessberg, Principal Scientist at VTT, and Remina Aleksieva, Analyst at the Center for the Study of Democracy. Nina Wessberg shared insights into the Responsible Research and Innovation approach developed in the context of the Refolution project. Remina Aleksieva presented the results of citizen panels conducted in Bulgaria, Italy, Sweden, and Austria.

The two studies highlighted how important and significant social acceptance is, as the consequences of biofuel production and adoption also involve and affect citizens and communities. For this reason, both studies focus on the need to inform and raise awareness on these issues through transparent communication that goes beyond the greenwashing aspect to which we are often exposed.

In particular, the CDS research presented by Remina showed that the level of trust in bioenergy as a sustainable solution increased moderately after the session in which the topic of bioenergy and its developments was explained by experts to citizens who were not prepared on the subject and with different background. The RRI explained by Nina is based on research and development methodologies that integrate environmental and societal considerations, specifically considering the effects and impacts of biofuels on the whole of society.

Presentations and slides below

Bio4Fuels Centre β€“Β π‘†π‘’π‘ π‘‘π‘Žπ‘–π‘›π‘Žπ‘π‘™π‘’ π΅π‘–π‘œπ‘“π‘’π‘’π‘™π‘  𝑖𝑛 π‘Ž π‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘€π‘’π‘”π‘–π‘Žπ‘› π‘π‘œπ‘›π‘‘π‘’π‘₯𝑑

Nina Wessberg – π‘†π‘’π‘ π‘‘π‘Žπ‘–π‘›π‘Žπ‘π‘–π‘™π‘–π‘‘π‘¦ π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘…π‘’π‘ π‘π‘œπ‘›π‘ π‘–π‘π‘–π‘™π‘–π‘‘π‘¦ 𝑖𝑛 π‘…π‘’π‘“π‘œπ‘™π‘’π‘‘π‘–π‘œπ‘› π‘π‘–π‘œπ‘“π‘’π‘’π‘™ π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘ π‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘β„Ž π‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘—π‘’π‘π‘‘ π‘π‘œπ‘›π‘‘π‘’π‘₯𝑑

Remina Aleksieva – π‘†π‘œπ‘π‘–π‘Žπ‘™ π΄π‘π‘π‘’π‘π‘‘π‘Žπ‘›π‘π‘’ π‘œπ‘“ π΅π‘–π‘œπ‘’π‘›π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘”π‘¦: 𝐾𝑒𝑦 πΏπ‘’π‘ π‘ π‘œπ‘›π‘  π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ πΌπ‘›π‘ π‘–π‘”β„Žπ‘‘π‘  π‘“π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘š π΅π‘’π‘™π‘”π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘–π‘Ž, πΌπ‘‘π‘Žπ‘™π‘¦, 𝑆𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑛 π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π΄π‘’π‘ π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘Ž

Steering Committee Members