Between high risk and high climate reward – European perceptions of nuclear energy
Focus of the contribution
The proposed paper will present data from a representative survey, conducted in UK, France, Germany, and Norway, eliciting European citizens’ attitudes towards nuclear energy (project: European Perceptions of Climate Change and Energy Preferences; data collection in June 2016). The focus lies on the analysis of the relation between concerns about climate change and subjective evaluation of nuclear energy as part of the resp. national energy mix.
Background
Climate change is one of the main drivers behind the efforts for a transformation towards a sustainable energy system (“Energiewende”).
In the 2015 Paris-Agreement, the 197 parties to the UNFCCC agreed to enhance efforts to hold the increase in the global average temperature below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. The European Union addresses this issue in its European Energy Roadmap 2050, with its aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% by the year 2050. One proposed path is to increase the share of renewable energy consumption by at least 27%.
However, energy production is not only a concern of low CO2 emissions. It also needs to respond to issues of a stable, secure, and affordable energy supply. Renewable energies are confronted with perceived and factual concerns about their ability to provide energy extensively, permanently, and without impacts on higher energy prices.
From a technological standpoint and a perspective focused solely on lowering CO2 emissions, nuclear energy seems to be a solution, that fulfills the social and economic needs of the energy consumption and supply while at the same time allowing to decrease CO2 emissions from energy production. But nuclear energy is, not least since the events of Fukushima, a contested topic in the public sphere.
Presented results:
Our data show a majority of citizens perceive nuclear energy as unacceptable in all four countries. When asked, if people support a national energy mix including nuclear power, Norwegian and German respondents notably spoke out against (Norway 62%, Germany: 57%). Furthermore, our analysis shows a correlation between higher climate change concern and a low approval of nuclear power.
The proposed contribution to the 2017 SRA Europe Conference will describe these results, the procedures and conclusions in detail.