Public backs changes in energy generation and use

The British public would like to see marked changes in the way energy is supplied, used and governed. That is the conclusion of Transforming the UK Energy System: Public Values, Attitudes and Acceptability, a new study by the UK Energy Research Centre:

The core conclusion from the research is that the British public wants and expects change with regard to how energy is supplied, used and governed. Members of the public are positive about the need for energy system change and they do not prioritise the demand side over the supply side, or vice versa, as being in greater need of change.

Within this, the research has illuminated a wide range of novel insights on public attitudes regarding: energy policy drivers; elements of energy system change; and the underlying values and principles that people draw on when engaging with this issue.

The project's leader Professor Nick Pidgeon, a Chartered Psychologist from Cardiff University, told the British Psychological Society website:

"I was particularly surprised to see how enthusiastically our participants engaged with the issue of energy system change when the policy dilemmas were described to them. Our findings regarding the values that people want to see reflected in long-term energy system change are genuinely novel, and set both a new academic and policy agenda for the coming decade."

Among the reports findings:

• the public wants to see transition to an efficient, clean, fair and safe energy system; 
• 82 per cent are worried about the UK becoming too dependent on energy from other countries; 
• 74 per cent of participants are very or fairly concerned about climate change; 
• 81 per cent of people would like to reduce their energy use; 
• trust in both energy companies and Government is low, which could hamper energy system development.