Using Captured CO2 In Everyday Products Could Help Fight Climate Change, But Will Consumers Want Them?

Would you drink carbonated beverages made with carbon dioxide captured from the smokestack of a factory or power plant?

How would you feel if that captured carbon dioxide were in your child’s toys, or in the concrete under your house?

The technology to capture climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions from smokestacks, and even from the air around us, already exists; so too does the technology to use this carbon dioxide to make products like plastics, concrete, carbonated drinks and even fuel for aircraft and automobiles.

That combination—known as carbon capture and utilization—could take up billions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions if the technologies were adopted across a range of sectors worldwide.

But for that to happen, the public will have to accept these new products. Will they? 

To answer this question, Dr. Lauren Lutzke and I undertook a study of American consumers in which we measured the influence of product type (carbonated beverages, plastic food storage containers, furniture made with foam or plastic, and shatterproof glass) and carbon capture method (Direct Air Capture or point source capture) on a consumer’s willingness to consume or use a CCU-based product. 

Compared to other product classes, participants were less accepting of carbonated beverages, particularly those containing carbon captured from point sources. At the same time, the majority of participants (approximately 69%) reported at least some openness to consuming or using a CCU-based product. 

Read our article from The Conversation here. 

And read about one of the studies upon which the article was based here.