In a new study published in Nature Climate Change, researchers share results from their assessment of which factors attract the strongest public support for the scaling of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) solutions. 

According to the study, public support for CDR depends not only on the volumes of CO2 it can remove, but also the way carbon removal projects are governed.

Led by Livia Fritz, assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Geneva and at the Institute for Environmental Sciences (ISE), the study was conducted with scientists from Aarhus University, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Bocconi University, CMCC, Boston University, and the University of Sussex. 

Together, the researchers set out to examine what exactly attracts public support for CDR. To that end, the team of scientists surveyed individuals across countries in the Global North and Global South, collecting opinions from 10,852 people in Brazil, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

The research was centered on carbon removal pathways such as enhanced rock weathering (ERW), ocean- or marine-based carbon removal (mCDR), and direct air capture and storage (DACCS).

Findings from this effort indicate that the strongest support factors are procedural and distributive fairness.

Survey participants across all countries and considered CDR technologies favored projects with planning processes open to public and expert scrutiny that share benefits or operate as not-for-profit arrangements.

For all three carbon removal technologies considered in each of the countries covered in the research, answers showed that consulting local communities or scientific experts raised public support.

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