nuclear-news

Nuclear power growing more unpopular – several global polls show

Nuclear power ‘gets little public support worldwide’, By Richard Black, Environment correspondent, BBC News, 26 Nov 11 There is little public appetite across the world for building new nuclear reactors, a poll for the BBC indicates.

In countries with nuclear programmes, people are significantly more opposed than they were in 2005, with only the UK and US bucking the trend.  Most believe that boosting efficiency and renewables can meet their needs.

Just 22% agreed that “nuclear power is relatively safe and an important source of electricity, and we should build more nuclear power plants”. In contrast, 71% thought their country “could almost entirely replace coal and nuclear energy within 20 years by becoming highly energy-efficient and focusing on generating energy from the Sun and wind”. Globally, 39% want to continue using existing reactors without building new ones, while 30% would like to shut everything down now.

The global research agency GlobeScan, commissioned by BBC News, polled 23,231 people in 23 countries from July to September this year, several months after an earthquake and giant tsunami devastated Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power station.

Rising tide GlobeScan had previously polled eight countries with nuclear programmes, in 2005. In most of them, opposition to building new reactors has risen markedly since. In Germany it is up from 73% in 2005 to 90% now – which is reflected in the government’s recent decision to close its nuclear programme.

More intriguingly, it also rose in pro-nuclear France (66% to 83%) and Russia (61% to 83%)…..

The BBC/GlobeScan poll is broadly consistent with other global polls as well. In June, both Ipsos-Mori and the JapaneseAsahi Shimbun newspaper found drops in support for the technology in most countries, with support continuing in a number including the US. The Ipsos-Mori poll found that nuclear enjoyed the lowest support of any established technology for generating electricity, with 38%.

Coal fared not much better, at 48%, while solar, wind and hydro all found favour with more than 90% of those surveyed.

“That renewable energy combined with efficiency can replace coal and nuclear is not only a majority popular belief, but a fact supported by a growing number of authoritative reports,” commented Jan Beranek, who leads the energy team in Greenpeace International. “Nuclear power is a relatively tiny industry with huge economic, technical, safety, environmental, and political problems. “And the Fukushima accident reminded the world that all reactors have inherent risks.”…..http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15864806

November 27, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, opposition to nuclear