Public support for gas power rises as concern about climate change dips
For a while now, the fossil fuel industry has been promoting the idea that gas generation is key to the UK’s cheap, secure, relatively low carbon future. With households keeping one eye on their energy bills, a new survey suggests the public is starting to agree.
A team from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) asked a nationally representative sample of nearly 1,000 people what they thought of the UK’s energy system, and which technologies they’d like to see more of in the future. They found that public support for gas is at its highest point since 2005, while public concern over climate change has dipped.
Gas support
The UKERC researchers asked people to rate their preferred energy sources, and the results showed an interesting shift from previous years.
While renewables continue to be the most popular energy source overall, the survey shows public support for wind and solar has fallen three years in a row.
The big winner in 2013 was gas generation, with 60 per cent of respondents saying they’d be happy to see more gas power plants – up from 40 per cent in 2012.
Image - UKERC energy sources (note)
That could be music to the ears of the chancellor, George Osborne, who is reportedly keen to crank up the amount of gas in the UK’s energy mix. He’s eager to explore the possibility of domestically produced gas, and recently offered tax breaks for shale gas in an attempt to stimulate the fledgling industry.
But that could be bad for the UK’s emissions. While gas generation is less polluting than coal, it has considerably higher emissions than nuclear and renewable power.
Government advisor, the Committee on Climate Change, has previously warned that a ‘dash for gas’ could mean the UK misses its legally binding emissions reduction targets . So ramping up gas generation beyond a certain point isn’t a good idea if you want to cut emissions, whether it’s popular or not.
Concern about climate change dips
The UKERC researchers suggest one reason for the public’s shifting energy attitudes is a decline in concern about climate change.
UKERC’s survey shows that while a clear majority still think the world’s climate is changing, the number of people that consider climate change to be a serious problem is decreasing.
Image - UKERC climate concerns (note)
UKERC says that could explain why the public saw gas more favourably than in previous years, and why renewables are getting less popular.
Bad news for nuclear
Decreasing public concern about climate change could be bad news for another energy source the government is keen to promote: nuclear.
The government frequently touts nuclear as a low carbon alternative to renewable energy, and in previous years that argument has had some traction with the public, UKERC’s survey found.
But for the second year in a row, less than 50 per cent of the public said they would accept more nuclear power stations on the basis they helped combat climate change.
Image - UKERC nuclear (note)
That may trouble the government, which late last year agreed to underwrite the £10 billion cost of building two new reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset, and wants to build much more.
A mixed bag
While UKERC’s survey doesn’t suggest the public wants to abandon the UK’s climate commitments and go all out for a fossil fuelled future, it does perhaps signal a shift in attitudes.
Though renewable energy sources remain popular, the public doesn’t see them as favourably as it once did. This could be because gas is seen as a cheap, reliable alternative. Or, more worryingly, it could be because a growing section of the public no longer considers climate change to be a good reason to invest in low carbon energy sources.