Relating individual perceptions of carbon dioxide to perceptions of CCS: an international comparative study

This international study investigated how individual perceptions of CO2 relate to perceptions of CCS and how information influenced attitudes towards low carbon energy options, particularly CCS. Respondents were found to have a general understanding of CO2 but poor knowledge of its scientific dimensions. These misperceptions were directly related to misperceptions of CCS, yet indirectly related to their opinion on CCS implementation. Information on CO2 natural phenomena and behaviour in CCS had a negative effect on CCS perceptions. CO2 characteristics information (specifically properties and chemistry) had a favourable effect and often mitigated the negative effects of the other information. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license