Britons Still Lukewarm on Revamping Nuclear Energy
One third of respondents are opposed to building new power plants, while support has dropped since 2009.
Polls RSS
(11/14/12) -
Public backing for nuclear energy in Britain is not as strong as it was three years ago, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,015 British adults, 45 per cent of respondents support building more nuclear power stations in the UK, while one third (33%) are opposed.
Since November 2009, the proportion of Britons who are in favour of expanding nuclear energy in the country has dropped by ten points.
Across Britain, 45 per cent of respondents want the UK to further pursue its nuclear energy capabilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Conversely, 34 per cent would prefer to avoid nuclear energy and focus on other carbon-free sources of energy.
At least two thirds of Britons remain “very concerned” or “moderately concerned” about nuclear waste management (74%), an accident at a nuclear power plant (69%) and health risks for communities that are close to a nuclear power station (66%). Three-in-five (62%) are worried about nuclear technology falling into the hands of extremists.
Download Full Methodology Statement
Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
CONTACT:
Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com
Methodology: From November 9 to November 12, 2011, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,015 randomly selected British adults who are Springboard UK panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Great Britain. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
