Public Perceptions and Support of Climate Intervention Technologies across the Global North and Global South

Data generated and analyzed from a large-scale, cross-country, nationally representative set of surveys (n=30,284 participants, with at least 1,000 in each country) of the public perceptions of CDR and SRM technologies in 30 countries and 19 languages. In specific, the surveys are nationally representative of country populations 18-74 in terms of age, gender, and geographic region along with broad quotas for education and income.

The survey instrument examined ten climate-intervention technologies that have been the focus of most research and discussion, categorized into three technology categories, with participants randomly assigned to one of the following groups: SRM (stratospheric aerosol injection, space-based geoengineering, marine cloud brightening); ecosystem-based CDR (afforestation and reforestation, soil carbon sequestration, marine biomass and blue carbon); and engineered CDR (direct air capture with carbon storage (DACCS), bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), enhanced weathering, biochar).

We asked participants of their familiarity with each technology, perceptions related to diverse risks and benefits, level of support for three different types of activities that may be conducted (research in laboratory setting, small-scale field trials, and broad deployment), and the kinds of policies participants may deem necessary before a given technology category were used. These questions represent the main outcome variables of the survey, and the core of the analysis.