Public opinion about solar radiation management: A cross-cultural study in 20 countries around the world

Nadja Contzen (), Goda Perlaviciute, Linda Steg, Sophie Charlotte Reckels, Susana Alves, David Bidwell, Gisela Böhm, Marino Bonaiuto, Li-Fang Chou, Victor Corral-Verdugo, Federica Dessi, Thomas Dietz, Rouven Doran, Maria do Carmo Eulálio, Kelly Fielding, Cristina Gómez-Román, Juliana V. Granskaya, Tatyana Gurikova, Bernardo Hernández, Maira P. Kabakova, Chieh-Yu Lee, Fan Li, Maria Luísa Lima, Lu Liu, Sílvia Luís, Gabriel Muinos, Charles A. Ogunbode, María Victoria Ortiz, Nick Pidgeon, Maria Argüello Pitt, Leila Rahimi, Anastasia Revokatova, Cecilia Reyna, Geertje Schuitema, Rachael Shwom, Nur Soylu Yalcinkaya, Elspeth Spence and Bernadette Sütterlin
Additional contact information
Nadja Contzen: Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology
Goda Perlaviciute: University of Groningen
Linda Steg: University of Groningen
Sophie Charlotte Reckels: Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology
Susana Alves: Sapienza University of Rome
David Bidwell: University of Rhode Island
Gisela Böhm: University of Bergen
Marino Bonaiuto: Sapienza University of Rome
Li-Fang Chou: National Cheng Kung University
Victor Corral-Verdugo: University of Sonora
Federica Dessi: Sapienza University of Rome
Thomas Dietz: Michigan State University
Rouven Doran: University of Bergen
Maria do Carmo Eulálio: State University of Paraíba
Kelly Fielding: University of Queensland
Cristina Gómez-Román: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela
Juliana V. Granskaya: St. Petersburg State University
Tatyana Gurikova: St. Petersburg State University
Bernardo Hernández: University of La Laguna
Maira P. Kabakova: Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
Chieh-Yu Lee: University of Groningen
Fan Li: China Agricultural University
Maria Luísa Lima: Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL)
Lu Liu: University of Groningen
Sílvia Luís: Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL)
Gabriel Muinos: University of Groningen
Charles A. Ogunbode: University of Bergen
María Victoria Ortiz: Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC)
Nick Pidgeon: Cardiff University
Maria Argüello Pitt: Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC)
Leila Rahimi: University of Tabriz
Anastasia Revokatova: Yu. A. Izrael Institute of Global Climate and Ecology
Cecilia Reyna: Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC)
Geertje Schuitema: University College Dublin
Rachael Shwom: Rutgers University
Nur Soylu Yalcinkaya: Bogazici University
Elspeth Spence: Cardiff University
Bernadette Sütterlin: ETH Zurich

Climatic Change, 2024, vol. 177, issue 4, No 9, 25 pages

Abstract: Abstract Some argue that complementing climate change mitigation measures with solar radiation management (SRM) might prove a last resort to limit global warming to 1.5 °C. To make a socially responsible decision on whether to use SRM, it is important to consider also public opinion, across the globe and particularly in the Global South, which would face the greatest risks from both global warming and SRM. However, most research on public opinion about SRM stems from the Global North. We report findings from the first large-scale, cross-cultural study on the public opinion about SRM among the general public (N = 2,248) and students (N = 4,583) in 20 countries covering all inhabited continents, including five countries from the Global South and five ‘non-WEIRD’ (i.e. not Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, and Democratic) countries from the Global North. As public awareness of SRM is usually low, we provided participants with information on SRM, including key arguments in favour of and against SRM that appear in the scientific debate. On average, acceptability of SRM was significantly higher in the Global South than in the ‘non-WEIRD’ Global North, while acceptability in the ‘WEIRD’ Global North was in between. However, we found substantial variation within these clusters, especially in the ‘non-WEIRD’ Global North, suggesting that countries do not form homogenous clusters and should thus be considered individually. Moreover, the average participants’ views, while generally neither strong nor polarised, differed from some expert views in important ways, including that participants perceived SRM as only slightly effective in limiting global warming. Still, our data suggests overall a conditional, reluctant acceptance. That is, while on average, people think SRM would have mostly negative consequences, they may still be willing to tolerate it as a potential last resort to fight global warming, particularly if they think SRM has only minor negative (or even positive) impacts on humans and nature.

Keywords: Climate engineering; Public opinion; Perceived risks; Perceived benefits; Perceived justice; Technology acceptance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s10584-024-03708-3

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