Kim Wolske, PhD

Carbon dioxide reduction (CDR) technologies work by removing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it in a variety of forms, e.g., as biomass, in deep saline aquifers, or as ultra-low emission fuels, with the ultimate goals of increasing negative emissions and achieving a net reduction in atmospheric CO2 concentrations.  While there is growing interest in the use of these climate engineering technologies as part of a larger strategy to address greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, it is unknown if these measures will reduce or augment the public’s support for mitigation measures already in place, e.g., policies to promote renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, industry-level emission standards, or reductions in individual and household-level energy consumption. The "risk salience" hypothesis suggests that learning about CDR, a highly uncertain and arguably drastic approach to climate change, will increase the salience and perceived risk of climate change, thereby strengthening support for traditional mitigation policies. In contrast, the "risk compensation" hypothesis argues that learning about CDR will dampen the perceived threat of climate change and thus reduce support for mitigation. This line of research uses a series of survey-based experiments to test under what conditions either of these hypotheses hold true.