In Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU), CO₂ captured from industrial processes replaces fossil feedstock used to produce of a variety of products, e.g., plastic products, fuels, or minerals. The roll-out of CCU will depend on the public's acceptance and risk perception. Whereas past studies exclusively focused on CCU risk perception, this study (n = 266) compared CCU to seven other infrastructure technologies (fossil, nuclear, renewable energies) to put the perceived CCU risks into perspective.

The risk perception for CCU was higher than it was for renewables, but lower compared to conventional energy technologies. User factors had limited influence on the risk perception: the perceived risks of CCU were not affected by people's general risk orientation. Instead, risk judgments were guided by the risk evaluations of renewable and conventional energy technologies, indicating that CCU was “neither fish nor fowl” for laypeople. This lack of familiarity with CCU highlights the need for communication concepts which clarify the role of CCU for climate and resource protection.

在碳捕获和利用（CCU）中，从工业过程中捕获的CO ₂替代了用于生产多种产品（例如塑料产品，燃料或矿物）的化石原料。CCU的部署将取决于公众的接受程度和风险感知。以往的研究仅关注CCU风险感知，而本研究（n  = 266）将CCU与其他七种基础设施技术（化石，核能，可再生能源）进行了比较，从而将感知到的CCU风险纳入了视野。

CCU的风险感知度高于可再生能源，但低于传统能源技术。用户因素对风险感知的影响有限：人们对CCU的感知风险不受人们总体风险取向的影响。取而代之的是，风险判断以可再生能源和常规能源技术的风险评估为指导，这表明CCU对于外行而言既不是“鱼也不是禽”。对CCU的不了解突显了对沟通概念的需求，这些概念阐明了CCU在气候和资源保护中的作用。