SRA-E Lisbon 2017

This paper addresses risk perceptions and the social acceptability of enhanced weathering, a carbon dioxide reduction technology which would involve spreading silicate particles over terrestrial surfaces in order to boost the biological processes which currently sequester CO2 as part of the earth’s natural carbon cycle. Carbon reduction technologies have gained in prominence following the Paris International Climate Agreement in 2015, which aspires to a global “balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases” (i.e. net-zero emissions) sometime between 2050 and 2100. The implication of this is that by then all remaining ‘positive’ fossil fuel emissions (e.g. from aviation, shipping, and other hard to decarbonise sectors) must be fully offset by operation of an equivalent set of ‘negative’ emission processes.We present the first exploration of British attitudes towards enhanced weathering as a biological negative emission option, using an online survey (n=935) of a representative quota sample of the public. Not surprisingly, baseline awareness of weathering was extremely low. When presented with a description many respondents remained undecided or neutral about risks, although more people support than oppose weathering. Factors predicting support for weathering and its research included feelings about the technology (affect) and trust in scientists. Over half of the sample agree that scientists should be able to conduct research into effectiveness and risks, but with conditions also placed upon how research is conducted; including the need for scientific independence, small-scale trials, strict monitoring, risk minimisation, and transparency of results. Public engagement is needed to explore in more detail why particular individuals feel either positive or negative about weathering at a climate mitigation option, and why they believe particular conditions should be applied to research, as part of wider risk governance processes for biological and other types of negative emissions technologies.