Perceptions of CO2 Report - Global CCS Institute

5.1 Responses collected: Values and knowledge of CO 2The first part of the survey was identical for all participants. It requested participants’ values andbeliefs about climate change and renewable energy, and it recorded their knowledge of CO 2 ’scharacteristics, effects, sources, and uses. These questions were based on the concepts that wereoften raised by respondents in the interviews and focus groups. Additionally, respondents ratedhow sure they were of their answers on a 1 to 5 scale, where answer option 1 indicated they weresure the given statement was not true; answer option 5 indicated they were sure that the givenstatement was true; and answer option 3 indicated that they were uncertain of their response.5.2 Information provided: CCS introductionNext, the survey presented respondents with brief introductory information on CCS, including anexplanatory diagram of the technology. The information was based on an introductory textdeveloped for and used in previous research into CCS perceptions of the lay public by theEuropean-funded NearCO2 project (Upham & Roberts, 2011).5.3 First assessment: CO2 impression, CCS impression and CCSacceptance measuresImpressions of CO 2 and CCS were measured before and after respondents received additionalinformation about CO 2 and CCS. They were measured using four scales with opposing adjectiveson each end: ‘negative-positive;’ ‘dirty-clean;’ ‘useless-useful;’ ‘dangerous-safe;’ and for CCS, anadditional scale: ‘developing technology-mature technology.’ Respondents could indicate whichadjective on the scale best represented their impressions of CO 2 and CCS. In addition,respondents indicated to what extent they would oppose or accept implementation of CCS storagein their country, neighbourhood, and offshore under the seabed of their nearest sea. In theanalysis, this first set of questions on CO 2 and CCS is referred to as the first assessment.5.4 Information provided: The nine conditionsAfter the introductory text on CCS and the first measures of CO 2 and CCS perceptions andacceptance, the overall sample of respondents was divided into nine separate conditions, each ofwhich received information from one or more of four different sets:• CO 2 properties (Information part A) listed information on CO 2 ’s chemistry, properties,toxicity, and uses; the greenhouse effect; and places where CO 2 exists.• CO 2 impact and natural phenomena (Information part B) described CO 2 ’s impacts andnatural phenomena involving it, e.g., hot springs with CO 2 in Japan and Germany and theLake Nyos incident.• CO 2 behaviour in CCS (Information part C) described how CO 2 would behave at theinjection stage, storage stage, and in the occurrence of CO 2 leakage during CCS. This textwas largely based on the information provided in the Information Choice Questionnaire (deBest-Waldhober, et al., 2009) and checked by experts for accuracy and balance.• Control (Information part D) repeated the introductory information and diagram of CCSpresented earlier in the survey.Understanding how individuals perceive carbon dioxide | 11