Energy Policy · 2013 · 128 citations · 20 references
Social SciencesEnvironmental Social ScienceClimate Change MitigationDisaster Risk ReductionEnergy PolicyAttitudes Toward Renewable EnergyClimate Change Risk PerceptionRenewable EnergyClimate Change AttitudesComparative Data AnalysisEnergy AttitudesEnergy Efficiency TechnologiesPublic Opinion ChangePublic Opinion ComparisonPublic Opinion EffectsPublic Opinion Framing
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 was expected to alter Australian public support for nuclear power. The study aimed to assess Australian public attitudes toward nuclear power as a climate‑change solution and compare them to other energy alternatives through nationwide surveys in 2010 and 2012. Nationwide surveys were administered in 2010 and again in 2012 to collect attitudes on nuclear power relative to climate change and other energy options. The surveys found that 42 % of Australians were willing to accept nuclear power to address climate change in 2010, but this dropped to 40 % after Fukushima, while renewable energy (71 %) and energy‑efficient technologies (58 %) remained the most favored options and opposition to nuclear power is likely to hinder its future development.
A nation-wide survey was conducted in 2010 to investigate the Australian public's attitudes to nuclear power in relation to climate change and in comparison to other energy alternatives. The survey showed a majority of respondents (42%) willing to accept nuclear power if it would help tackle climate change. Following the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Complex in Japan, an event triggered by the 11 March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, it was expected that support for nuclear power in Australia would change. In light of this, a follow-up survey was conducted in 2012. Indeed, the post-Fukushima results show a majority of respondents (40%) were not willing to accept nuclear power as an option to help tackle climate change, despite the fact that most Australians still believed nuclear power to offer a cleaner, more efficient option than coal, which currently dominates the domestic production of energy. Expanding the use of renewable energy sources (71%) remains the most popular option, followed by energy-efficient technologies (58%) and behavioural change (54%). Opposition to nuclear power will continue to be an obstacle against its future development even when posed as a viable solution to climate change.
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Greenhouse-gas emission targets for limiting global warming to 2 °C
Malte Meinshausen, Nicolai Meinshausen, S. C. B. Raper et al. · Nature · 2009 · 2.8K citations
Natural Sciences, Environmental Policy, Environmental Sciences +14