Two thirds of people support renewable energy

Findings from a recent poll sponsored by academics and government questioned the political wisdom of government policy shifts away from renewables and scepticism over the origins of climate change.

The survey, which included a sub group of 16-24 year olds, found that two thirds of all respondents and 74 per cent of the younger contingent felt the benefits of renewable energy outweighed the risks. More than half of each group said the gains far outweighed the risks.

And a large majority accepted the assertion that people are the chief cause of current climate change; 75 per cent of those surveyed disagreed that humans were not significantly influencing the climate while 14 per cent disagreed.

Over three-quarters of all respondents and 85 per cent of the younger ones supported offshore wind farms. Views on fracking for shale gas were split almost equally between against, neutral and supportive.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology had the support of 51 per cent of the people polled and 55 per cent said it would help tackle climate change.

Only two out of five felt that CCS would boost the UK economy compared to 57 per the same about fracking. However only a quarter of respondents thought fracking would make a positive contribution to reducing climate change.

Meanwhile 40 per cent of those surveyed felt the benefits of nuclear energy outweighed its risks compared to 28 per cent who thought otherwise with a near identical split in the younger group.

Nearly four out of five respondents considered themselves to be well informed about climate change but only 61 per cent felt the same about renewable energy.

RenewableUK director, Nick Medic said the findings were “heartening.”

The survey by pollster Ipsos Mori was commissioned by the government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and academic research funder the Economic and Social Research Council. Ipsos Mori quizzed 1,749 adults and 510 between 16 and 24 years old.