Perceptions of naturalness predict US public support for Soil Carbon Storage as a climate solution

Soil Carbon Storage has emerged as a feasible strategy for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, raising important questions regarding whether the general public supports the strategy as a means to address climate change. We analyzed data from a national probability survey of 1222 US adults who reported believing in climate change at least “somewhat” to estimate public support for Soil Carbon Storage and how it compares to other leading Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) strategies. Overall, a majority of the sample expressed support for Soil Carbon Storage—regardless of whether the strategy involved the use of biochar (a form of charcoal made from organic matter) or not (55% and 62%, respectively)—placing Soil Carbon Storage ahead of Bioenergy plus Carbon Capture and Storage (32%) and Direct Air Capture (25%), and behind only Afforestation and Reforestation (73%), in terms of public support. In addition, perceiving Soil Carbon Storage as “natural” strongly predicted individual-level support, a pattern that held for every CDR strategy featured on the survey. Results demonstrate broad US public support for Soil Carbon Storage as a climate change mitigation strategy at a time when scientists and policymakers are actively considering the political, not just technical, feasibility of different climate solutions.