Perceptions of CO2 Report - Global CCS Institute

2.2 Perceptions of CO 2Very little existing research literature describes the general public’s perceptions of CO 2 . Researchinto public understanding and perceptions of climate change and energy technologies have onlyexamined individual knowledge and perceptions of CO 2 as a secondary focus, if at all. However,these studies have demonstrated that substantial gaps exist in the general public’s knowledge andunderstanding of CO 2 . For example, interviews conducted by Wallquist, Visschers, and colleagues(2009) demonstrated a lack of knowledge on the physical-chemical properties of CO 2 among the‘lay’ (i.e. non-scientific) population. Misconceptions were particularly evident with regards todispersion rates of CO 2 in the atmosphere and its density in a super-critical state and in solution(Wallquist, et al., 2009).In addition to CO 2 ’s chemical properties, its sources and the environmental problems it causes alsoremain a source of confusion for members of the general public (Curry, Reiner, Ansolabehere, &Herzog, 2005; Sharp, Jaccard, & Keith, 2009). An early cross-national public opinion study usingsurveys delivered in the USA, UK, Sweden and Japan found that respondents had difficultyassociating CO 2 with global warming as opposed to other environmental problems, such as ozonedepletion (Reiner, et al., 2006b). However, when asked to identify the sources and sinks of CO 2 ,the majority of respondents in all countries correctly identified cars, coal-fired power plants, andhome heating as causes for increasing levels of CO 2 . Likewise, almost all of the respondentsunderstood the underpinnings of photosynthesis in plants, correctly responding that trees could bea sink to reduce atmospheric CO 2 levels. In a replication of that survey in Australia and the UK in2006, the results were almost identical (Ashworth, Reiner, Gardner, & Littleboy, 2007).Many laypeople are unfamiliar with the mechanisms by which climate change takes place. In theironline survey of the Australian public, Ashworth, Jeanneret and colleagues (2011b) found that halfof respondents incorrectly identified ozone depletion as a cause of climate change; and only justover half understood the mechanism of the greenhouse effect. Similarly, de Best-Waldhober,Daamen and colleagues (2009) found that the majority of respondents in the Netherlands wereunable to identify the relationship between fossil fuel use, CO 2 , and global warming.Even today, laypeople commonly misperceive and misunderstand CO 2 . A recent study of theDutch general public by Paukovic and colleagues (2011), which measured CO 2 knowledge,suggests that incorrect beliefs and uncertainty about the properties of CO 2 are still prevalent. Forexample, 25.2% of respondents thought or were convinced that people do not exhale CO 2 ; and22.4% were unsure about the validity of this claim. Similarly 20.7% thought that CO 2 causescancer, and 38.4% were unsure whether this was the case or not.Likewise, recent survey research conducted in the UK by Whitmarsh, Seyfang and colleagues(2011) suggests that knowledge about “carbon” is still limited, even while the causes of climatechange are increasingly recognised. The UK survey found that carbon was most commonlyconceptualised as meaning ‘CO 2 ’; consequently, it was perceived negatively as harmful, toxic, andan anthropogenic source of climate change, rather than a naturally occurring and abundantbuilding block of life (Whitmarsh, et al., 2011).These varying misperceptions about CO 2 and associated concepts such as carbon have follow-oneffects for peoples’ understanding and perceptions of the mitigation techniques (such as CCS)required to address the problems associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.4 | Understanding how individuals perceive carbon dioxide