Investigating public perceptions of Carbon Dioxide Utilisation (CDU) technology: a mixed methods study

Carbon Dioxide Utilisation (CDU) technologies hold promise for helping to limit atmospheric releases of CO2 while generating saleable products. However, while there is growing investment in the research and development required to bring CDU to market, to date there has been very little systematic research into public perceptions of the technology. The current research reports upon the findings of a series of six qualitative focus groups (and an associated questionnaire) held with members of the UK public in order to discuss the perceived benefits and risks of CDU technology. The findings reveal that public awareness of CDU is currently very low and that there is a desire to learn more about the technology. While our participants did, on average, appear to develop an overall positive attitude towards CDU, this attitude was both tentative and was associated with a number of caveats. The implications for the findings in terms of the development of communication and broader strategies of public engagements are outlined

Informed and uninformed public opinions on CO2-capture and storage technologies in the Netherlands

Two research methods were used in this study to analyze the awareness and perception of the Dutch general public regarding Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS). In an Information-Choice Questionnaire (ICQ), a representative sample of the Dutch public (n = 995) was provided with all information on attributes of six CCS options, which experts deemed necessary to come to well-considered and well-informed opinions. A traditional questionnaire was used simultaneously (n = 327) to study uninformed evaluations of these technologies. The results showed that the Dutch public is mostly unaware of CCS and has little knowledge about how current energy use causes global warming. Uninformed respondents are still inclined to give their opinion however, which results in unpredictive, easily changeable opinions. ICQ respondents who processed information on attributes of CCS options were likely to base their option evaluations on this information, though not entirely. All in all, the results of the ICQ suggest that, after processing information deemed necessary by experts, Dutch people reluctantly agree with large scale implementation of each of the six CCS options

Informed public opinion in the Netherlands: Evaluation of CO2 capture and storage technologies in comparison with other CO2 mitigation options

In this study, 995 respondents in a representative sample of the Dutch general population are set in the situation of policymakers: they are faced with the issue of fulfilling the Dutch demand for energy in 2030 in such a way that emissions of carbon dioxide will be reduced by 50%. In the Information-Choice Questionnaire (ICQ) that was developed for this, respondents evaluated information from experts on seven options for CO2 emission reduction and their consequences. Two CCS options were compared to two energy efficiency options, a wind energy option, a biomass energy option, and a nuclear energy option. Results show that people are not that enthusiastic regarding the two CCS options. These are evaluated 5.3 and 5.9 on average on a scale of 1–10 and not often chosen as one of the three preferred options, but they are also rarely rejected. Most of the other options in the questionnaire were evaluated rather positively, except nuclear energy and the more ambitious efficiency option. Analysis shows that the evaluation of the information regarding consequences moderately influences how options are evaluated overall. The results further indicate that the CCS options are evaluated less positively due to the comparison with other options