Perceptions of CO2 Report - Global CCS Institute

9.2.5 NEED FOR CARE IN ADDRESSING CO 2 ’S BEHAVIOUR IN CCSThe effects of the information on CO 2 behaviour in CCS were mixed between positive andnegative, and sometimes cancelled each other out. For instance, the information on “CO 2characteristics” was shown to mitigate the negative impact on this scale caused by the information“CO 2 natural phenomena.” It is important to convey the correct information on CO 2 characteristicsbecause the understanding of CO 2 characteristics could mitigate misunderstandings that arisewhen respondents receive any incomplete or indirect information about CCS.9.2.6 NEED FOR ADDITIONAL BASIC INFORMATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE, CCS ANDTHEIR RELATIONSHIP TO CO 2 EMISSIONSUnderstanding of the effectiveness of CCS as global warming reduction measure was one of thestrongest positive factors that influenced the CCS impressions “Positive”, “Clean”, and “Useful.”This suggests that respondents should receive more background information about CCS and itsrole as a climate change mitigation technology in order to form an opinion about CCS. This studyalso demonstrated a significant gap between “awareness” and “knowledge,” similarly to what hasbeen previously shown by Ashworth, Beath, Boughen, & Littleboy (2005). Results show thatawareness does not directly imply knowledge, as in all three cultural settings approximately onequarter of respondents indicated having heard about CCS, but not really knowing what it was. Thisknowledge-awareness gap poses an issue for communicating about CCS, as the results alsodemonstrate that knowledge about CCS plays a key role in forming people’s opinions about thetechnology: mere awareness would seemingly lead to a different opinion than knowledge. Thisresult highlights the importance of education and the provision of reliable and balanced informationin CCS communication strategies.9.2.7 NEED FOR ADDITIONAL CCS EDUCATION AND OUTREACH CAMPAIGNS THROUGHLESS-FORMAL MECHANISMSAnalysis showed a strong relationship between participants’ tendency to believe in the credibility ofcertain information sources and their knowledge of CCS topics. Trust in friends, websites, andnational and local NGOs was negatively correlated with correct understanding of CCS. Thesesources may be labelled “less formal” in contrast to public sector organisations, local government,national newspapers, and scientists. The correlation between trust in informal sources and poorerunderstanding of CCS suggests that the people with the poorest understanding of CCS may alsobe least likely to trust information and education by government, scientists, and other formalauthorities regarding it. Therefore, sole reliance on the formal information sources (i.e., publicsector organisations, local government, national newspapers, and scientists) may not reach thepeople with the poorest understanding of CCS. Alternative means should be adopted.Understanding how individuals perceive carbon dioxide | 51