As emerging methods for carbon removal and controversial proposals around solar radiation modification are gaining traction in climate assessments and policy debates, a better understanding of how the public perceives these approaches is needed. Relying on qualitative data from 44 focus groups (n = 323 respondents), triangulated with a survey conducted in 22 countries (n = over 22 000 participants), we examine the role that climate change beliefs and attitudes towards climate action play in the formation of public perceptions of methods for carbon removal and solar radiation modification. We find that nationally varying degrees of perceived personal harm from climate change and climate worry predict support for these technologies. In addition to different perceptions of the problem, varying perceptions of the solution – i.e. the scope of climate action needed − shape publics’ assessment. Various tensions manifest themselves in publics’ reflections on the potential contribution of these climate technologies to climate action, including “buying time vs. delaying action”, “treating the symptoms vs. tackling the root causes”, and “urgency to act vs. effects only in the distant future”. We find that public perceptions are embedded in three broader narratives about transformation pathways, each reflecting varying notions of responsibility: (i) behavior change-centred pathways, (ii) top-down and industry-centred pathways, and (iii) technology-centred pathways. These results suggest that support for the deployment of the climate technologies studied hinges on them being tied to credible system-wide decarbonization efforts as well as their ability to effectively respond to a variety of perceived climate impacts.

中文翻译：

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气候信念、气候技术和转型路径：22 个国家的公众认知背景


随着新兴的碳去除方法和有关太阳辐射调节的有争议的提案在气候评估和政策辩论中越来越受到关注，需要更好地了解公众如何看待这些方法。依靠来自 44 个焦点小组（n = 323 名受访者）的定性数据，并与在 22 个国家（n = 超过 22,000 名参与者）进行的调查进行三角测量，我们研究了气候变化信念和对气候行动的态度在形成公众对碳去除和太阳辐射调节方法的看法。我们发现，全国范围内对气候变化和气候担忧造成的个人伤害的感知程度不同，预示着对这些技术的支持。除了对问题的不同看法之外，对解决方案的不同看法（即所需的气候行动范围）也会影响公众的评估。公众对这些气候技术对气候行动的潜在贡献的反思中表现出各种紧张关系，包括“争取时间与拖延行动”、“治标与治本”以及“行动的紧迫性与效果”只是在遥远的未来”。我们发现，公众的看法植根于关于转型路径的三种更广泛的叙述中，每种叙述都反映了不同的责任概念：（i）以行为改变为中心的路径，（ii）自上而下和以行业为中心的路径，以及（iii）以技术为中心的路径途径。这些结果表明，对所研究的气候技术部署的支持取决于它们与可靠的全系统脱碳努力以及它们有效应对各种感知到的气候影响的能力。