Support for global warming mitigation and the use of CCS: A survey of the Malaysian public

The 2007 Nobel Peace prize was awarded to individuals and groups that had worked hard to address the impending threat of global warming. The award partly serves to highlight to the world the urgency and importance of the global warming issue to humanity. However, questions still remain on the actual public awareness level on global warming and the available technology for its mitigation. This study focused on a Malaysian perspective on these issues. The objectives were achieved with specifically developed questionnaires for gauging the awareness and support level of the respondents. Over a thousand surveys were distributed to the general public via a mix of online and printout survey forms. The responses to the survey were encouraging. Majority of the respondents have heard of or are aware about the global warming issue. Yet, the responses show that there is still a lack of understanding on the climate change drivers. CCS technology is also a rather new mitigation technology and many are still not clear about the details on the role of the technology. It was also noted that there is much support from the respondents with regard to the need for more effort to mitigate climate change, yet there is still some reluctance to contribute in monetary forms to the additional cost required for mitigation. This survey results clearly show that there is still a need to further disseminate information and knowledge on global warming to the general public. In order to minimize confusion and to gain support, details and facts with regards to mitigation technologies should also be part of a wider public education or outreach initiative.