**4. The role of trust**

The unconventional gas industry, scientists and regulators tend to believe the above men‐ tioned risks are generally understood and manageable. However, some in the community, such as environmental groups, suburbanites and farmers, perceive these risks to be not well

The general tenor of public concerns regarding hydraulic fracturing is not unique, and its proponents may be able to learn from the experience of other technical advances that have challenged community acceptance. Genetic modification of foods[4-6] and the purifica‐ tion of treated sewerage for drinking water[7, 8], for example, have each aroused concert‐ ed community campaigns against their introduction. A range of studies have been conducted to understand the underlying (psychological/sociological) concerns about each

Public acceptance of science and technology can be examined on different levels. Commonly, the concept of attitudes provides the framework for social research in this area. Psychologists define an attitude as a tendency to evaluate a particular entity with a certain degree of favour or disfavour [11]. Risk perception might be regarded as a specific form of an attitude towards

In terms of genetically modified (GM) foods and crops, knowing the amount or extent of benefits alone is not sufficient to determine public acceptability. Consideration of the perceived

There has been research that suggests people tend to perceive risk-benefit as an inverse relationship[14, 15]. It has also been suggested that if perceptions of the risks related to any potential hazard or technology are sufficiently high, no amount of benefits are liable to make

The term 'risk' is further complicated by the perceptual multidimensionality of the concept. People do not perceive the risk of hazards according to a single dimension related to predicted injuries or fatalities but interpret risk according to several independent perceptual factors, termed 'dread', 'familiarity' and 'number of people exposed'[17]. Other research looking at food technologies and hazards has uncovered similar dimensions, which have been termed

The commonly found dimension of 'familiarity' or 'unknown risks', means that people might judge a technology to be 'risky' if they know little about it and/or they *perceive* that science and scientists know little about it[13]. Risk 'severity' has also been shown to be an important dimension to people when forming risk perceptions[19], as has perceived lack of control over

For some of the general public, the perceived risks of the CSG industry and hydraulic fracturing far outweigh the benefits and, hence, there is opposition to the industry and use of the

understood.

260 Effective and Sustainable Hydraulic Fracturing

technology[4, 9, 10].

a specific entity[12].

it acceptable[16].

**3. The role of attitudes and risk perception**

risks of the technology also needs to be taken into account[13].

'severity', 'number of people exposed' and 'unknown risks'[18].

preventing or early remediation of incidents[20].

technologies associated with the industry.

Trust is another factor that is of great importance in understanding public acceptance and adoption of new technologies. The general public's trust in regulatory institutions and the motives of scientists or in information about the risks and benefits of particular technological applications of science and technology play an important role.

If a source is distrusted, it matters little how full or persuasive their information is. Hazard acceptability has been linked empirically with both risk perception and level of trust[25].

In terms of the unconventional gas industry, there is a general lack of trust in gas developers and lack of confidence in government to properly regulate the industry. Information provided by gas developers and/or government agencies about techniques, processes, regulation and risk management used in exploration and production of unconventional gas in Australia is generally treated with suspicion and distrust.

An added challenge is the perception of credibility: expertise relevant to the gas industry frequently resides in or is partially dependent upon the gas industry; and technical experts rarely personally inhabit the geography of perceived risk. Such are the foundations upon which attempts to address general public concerns must be built.

It is important to understand how people's attitudes and values influence their acceptance or rejection of the CSG industry, hydraulic fracturing and more generally the unconventional gas industry.
