What a waste! Assessing public perceptions of Carbon Dioxide Utilisation technology

• Public perception could affect future commercial success of CDU technology.
• We propose and test method for assessing public perceptions of CDU technology.
• Results indicate that CDU is not rejected but is greeted with caution by non-experts.
• Findings have implications for public communication about CDU technology.

Carbon Dioxide Utilisation (CDU) technologies hold promise by helping to limit atmospheric releases of CO2 while simultaneously generating saleable products; however, to date there has been very little systematic research into public perceptions of the technology.This short communication reports briefly upon the results of a small pilot study designed to (a) test a methodology for investigating public perceptions of CDU; and (b) elucidate new understanding of people's attitudes towards the technology.The results indicate that while people believe that CDU will have economic benefits (e.g., creating employment opportunities and saleable products) there is scepticism over the perceived long-term environmental benefits of the technology (e.g., in mitigating climate change).The findings of this research have important implications for the framing of communications about CDU technology within the public sphere.

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