The most recent IPCC report considers Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) as an unavoidable climate change mitigation measure, although controversial discussions about CDR have taken place in the past. This study contributes to the ongoing debate by providing insights into academic expert opinions about Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS). An online survey was conducted to examine how academic experts (N = 172) perceive and to what extent they support BECCS and DACCS. Overall, the results show rather high expert support for research on and the deployment of BECCS and DACCS. Perceived feasibility of the technologies consistently predicted support for BECCS and DACCS, with means in the upper medium range. Further significant predictors were the extent to which experts perceived the technologies to be necessary, the experts’ amount of academic experience, the associated moral hazard, and the perceived tampering with nature.
Voluntary carbon offsets (VCO) have been introduced as a means of compensating personal carbon emissions related to travelling. Purchases of VCO have remained low in the past, but might increase in the future due to rising awareness about climate change. VCO have been assumed to increase the acceptability of flying among eco-minded people. Therefore, VCO might not only be a tool to offset emissions but also to compensate for “flight shame”. Much research has been carried out to detect VCO purchasers’ motives, but none has explored the potential behavioral rebound effects of VCO with regard to flying. This article contributes to the debate by presenting a conceptual framework that was developed to investigate these rebound effects. First, we present the motives that travelers have for offsetting their flight emissions. These motives already indicate the possibility of a rebound effect. Second, we discuss several conceptual ideas which should be considered for the design of empirical studies. Overall, we argue that the use of VCO might lead to unintended carbon emissions; however, isolating the specific role of VCO remains a difficult task. Nevertheless, research on behavioral rebound effects is needed to clarify whether VCO counteract sustainability in the transport sector.
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