Perceptions of CO2 Report - Global CCS Institute

EffectsIn the interviews, respondents ascribed several effects of other substances to CO 2 , and thequestionnaire results showed that these misperceptions also exist in the broader population.• First of all, over half of respondents believed that CO 2 harms the ozone layer (56%); 15.9%stated it does not; while 28.1% were unsure about this. Japan had the highest percentage ofpeople who were sure CO 2 affects the ozone layer, 52.4%, compared to 29.5% in Australia and21.3% in the Netherlands.• One third of respondents (32.4%) were either slightly or very sure that CO 2 affects humanhealth in the same way as air pollution substances such as soot do, while 41.5% were unsure.• The interviews showed apparent confusion between CO 2 and carbon monoxide (CO). Theresults of the survey confirmed that considerable uncertainty exists: 40.3% of respondents wereunsure about whether CO 2 has the same effect on humans as CO.• A majority of respondents thought or were sure that CO 2 influences the climate, and that plantsand trees need CO 2 to grow. In the Netherlands, a much larger number of respondents thoughtthat CO 2 influences the climate, but were unsure about this.Figure 7: Knowledge of all participants of CO 2 's effectsOverall knowledge levels across countriesIn order to compare the knowledge levels between the countries, an overall knowledge score wascomputed. Respondents who answered an item incorrectly or were unsure about the answerreceived 1 point for this item. Respondents who chose the correct answer, but were not sure of theanswer, received 2 points, and those who were sure of the correct answer received 3 points. TheJapanese sample had the highest overall CO 2 knowledge score with a mean of 1.93, followed bythe Australian sample (m = 1.80) and finally the Netherlands (m = 1.64). There was a statisticallysignificant difference among the three countries (F (2,2470) = 95.16, p < .001).Understanding how individuals perceive carbon dioxide | 25