Comparing How the Public Perceive CCs Across Australia and China

Abstract Whilst carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been promoted as a direct countermeasure against global warming, there remains much debate about what its final role as a climate change mitigation strategy will be. One key criticism directed towards CCS has been its inability to gain public support. This study compares public attitudes to the range of low carbon energy sources and technologies across Australia and China, and is the first study to compare primary data across these two countries on this topic. An online survey encompassing a broad set of questions was used to identify the factors that are associated with support for CCS compared to other energy technologies. Data were collected from a nationally representative Australian sample (n = 2383) and from Chinese urban residents across six regions (n = 1266). The survey confirmed low levels of knowledge and support for CCS in both countries. However, male respondents, those who perceived themselves to have higher knowledge of CCS, and those who valued economic outcomes over environmental protection were more likely to support CCS - as long as the risks were not perceived to outweigh the benefits. The results found that for Australians who believed in human-induced climate change they were likely to be unsupportive of CCS. This opposition appears to be linked to no tolerance for extending fossil fuels as in our factor analysis CCS was aligned to fossil fuels in Australia. In both countries, support for renewable energy technologies remains strong. Given the International Energy Agency’s future energy demand projections, combined with slow progress towards meeting the Paris Climate Agreement, the lack of knowledge and support for CCS is concerning. While there have been some technological advances, without parallel improvements in public acceptance of CCS, it will be difficult to see any commercial projects going forward in the near future. Although, the Chinese government’s success in educating on climate science, as evidenced in these results, suggests that they may be more effective at informing the public of the benefits of CCS and take the lead on its deployment for climate change mitigation. Based on the latest climate models, it is almost crunch time for governments to decide if CCS has a role to play as part of an energy transition to a low carbon future or perhaps it may be time to turn their focus to climate adaptation.