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This paper reports on a public opinion survey designed to examine how the local public thought about a proposed CCS demonstration project in Barendrecht, the Netherlands. The survey was administered to a large sample of the Barendrecht population (N=811) shortly before it was decided to cancel the project. The results indicate that most residents were rather negative about the CCS project and found it an important issue. Furthermore, most residents thought it was unsafe to transport and store CO₂ in the region and thought it was very likely that the project would cause a fall in local property value. These beliefs only partially explained the mostly negative public attitudes. Socio-political factors also contributed significantly to negative attitudes among the local public: Most residents perceived the decision-making process as unfair and mistrusted those who would decide about whether or not to proceed with the …