Risk Analysis, Vol. 29, No. 8, 2009 DOI: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2009.01256.x Competence-Based and Integrity-Based Trust as Predictors of Acceptance of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) Bart W. Terwel, 1 ∗ Fieke Harinck, 1 Naomi Ellemers, 1 and Dancker D. L. Daamen 1 Public trust in organizations that are involved in the management and use of new technolo- gies affects lay judgments about the risks and benefits associated with these technologies. In turn, judgments about risks and benefits influence lay attitudes toward these technologies. The validity of this (indirect) effect of trust on lay attitudes toward new technologies, which is referred to as the causal chain account of trust, has up till now only been examined in cor- relational research. The two studies reported in this article used an experimental approach to more specifically test the causal chain account of trust in the context of carbon dioxide capture and storage technology (CCS). Complementing existing literature, the current studies explic- itly distinguished between two different types of trust in organizations: competence-based trust (Study 1) and integrity-based trust (Study 2). In line with predictions, results showed that the organizational position regarding CCS implementation (pro versus con) more strongly af- fected people’s risk and benefit perceptions and their subsequent acceptance of CCS when competence-based trust was high rather than low. In contrast, the organizational position had a greater impact on people’s level of CCS acceptance when integrity-based trust was low rather than high. KEY WORDS: CCS; competence-based trust; integrity-based trust; public acceptance; risk and benefit perception 1. INTRODUCTION Preventing climate change is among the great- est environmental challenges facing the world today. In addition to saving on energy consumption and increasing the use of sustainable energy sources, im- plementation of recently developed carbon dioxide capture and storage technology (CCS) is currently considered as an important strategy to achieve cli- 1 Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. ∗ Address correspondence to Bart W. Terwel, Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Leiden Univer- sity, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands; tel: +31(0)715276686; fax: +31(0)715273619; bterwel@fsw. leidenuniv.nl. mate change mitigation. This technology involves the capture, transport, and long-term storage of carbon dioxide in underground sites, such as depleted gas fields. Interested organizations (e.g., industrial organi- zations, environmental NGOs) associate several en- vironmental and economic risks and benefits with CCS. (1) These organizations will take into account their assessments of these risks and benefits to de- termine their organizational positions on CCS im- plementation. Members of the general public, on the other hand, lack individual expertise about CCS (and about scientific constructs such as carbon diox- ide in general) to be able to properly assess the risks and benefits of this new technology. (2,3) As a conse- quence, and in line with previous research on other 1129 0272-4332/09/0100-1129$22.00/1 C  2009 Society for Risk Analysis