Improving Public Acceptance of Carbon Capture and Storage(CCS) in China

Carbon Capture and Storage(CCS) refers to a set of technologies that can be installed for the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in power generation and industrial processes. CCS is a priority option for China to combat climate change, but its public acceptance remains a bottleneck for its promotion. This study explored the influences of social norm effects and framing effects on improving CCS public acceptance in China. A randomized control trial (RCT) experiment of 2 (with vs. without social norms) 2 (gain vs. loss frames ) was conducted in an online survey. The results revealed that social normative information exerted significant effects on improving participants' CCS acceptance level, whereas framed information had no salient influences on participants' attitudes. The advantages of social norms are inspiring and recommendable for China's CCS public communication strategies.