Perceptions of CO2 Report - Global CCS Institute

1 IntroductionClimate change has often been described as a “wicked”, diabolical problem (Stern, 2006;Lorenzoni, Jones, & Turnpenny, 2007), with most governments working to find solutions to reduceoverall global carbon emissions (United Nations Framework on the Convention on ClimateChange, 1998). For some countries, particularly that rely heavily on fossil fuels, CO 2 capture andstorage (CCS) presents a potential technological solution for mitigating CO 2 sources (GCCSI,2011; IEA, 2009). However, as demonstrated on several occasions, the successful adoption ofCCS technology will depend partly on its societal acceptance, which in turn depends on how it isultimately understood by citizens and communities.Recent research has shown that public knowledge and understanding of CO 2 affects publicengagement with CCS technologies (Wallquist, Visschers, & Siegrist, 2009). Previous focusgroups by Itaoka and colleagues (2007) found that some laypeople have only a vague knowledgeof CO 2 ’s properties. Itaoka and colleagues also found that providing information on possible humanhealth effects, along with information on the low possibility of accidents—or on a few natural cases,such as the Lake Nyos incident—surprises the public and typically leads them to classify CCS asvery dangerous (2009). Overall, research has found that erroneous beliefs about CO 2 may hinderefforts to provide factual information on CO 2 mitigation technologies (Wallquist, Visschers, &Siegrist, 2009).A lot of communication about global warming and energy transition seems to lack explanation ofCO2 itself though. For instance a media analysis of Dutch newspaper articles relating to CCS fromearly 2009 to end of 2011 showed that only a minute percentage of articles explained what CO 2 isor how it relates to global warming (Paukovic, Brunsting, & De Best-Waldhober, 2011). Yet forcommunication to be effective, it is essential that communicated information fits the knowledgelevel of the communicators. If most lay people do not know about CO 2 , but the level ofcommunication does assume such knowledge, this gap is bound to generate a lot ofmisunderstanding.This international research project conducted across Australia, the Netherlands, and Japan aims toaddress that gap. It explores the public’s knowledge and understanding of CO 2 ’s properties, andalso examines the influence of that knowledge on the public’s perception of CO 2 and CCS. As asecondary objective, it investigates how information provision about the underlying properties andcharacteristics of CO 2 influence individual attitudes towards CCS.2 | Understanding how individuals perceive carbon dioxide