Americans have “moderately positive” views about capturing carbon dioxide and using it to create products, according to a new study.
But researchers found that people were less supportive of building a carbon capture facility in their communities. The study, based on a survey of 1,200 Americans, comes as the Biden administration pours billions of dollars into technologies that capture the greenhouse gas from smokestacks or suck it out of the air in a bid to curb global warming.
“We know that public perceptions can influence what types of climate measures are pursued and prioritized or abandoned,” said Kim Wolske, an author of the study and a behavioral scientist at the University of Chicago. “So, it’s helpful to understand, is this a technology that the public is receptive to?”
Most of the country’s carbon capture projects plan to either permanently store CO2 underground or use it for enhanced oil recovery. But the study, published in Sustainable Production and Consumption, focused on the less prevalent carbon capture and utilization (CCU), where captured carbon is used to make products ranging from concrete to fuel.
