UK - Nuclear more popular than gas

With crunch decisions imminent on the UK's energy and climate change future, a new poll suggests government policy is out of step with public opinion.

Decision time is fast approaching for the UK's big energy and climate change choices, from how the government can keep companies interested in building new nuclear power stations to how quickly subsidies for new renewable technologies should taper down. So it's good to get a reminder of what the British people actually want, courtesy of a YouGov opinion poll, paid for by EDF.

EDF, of course, is the nuclear giant 83% owned by the French state and just about the only serious nuclear power player left in the UK. But most of the questions asked were straight, although there were no questions on cost or energy efficiency. What the polling shows is that while nuclear power has survived a small dip in popularity following the Fukushima disaster, it remains short of an absolute majority. Wind power, in contrast, does.

Those polled were asked "how favourable or unfavourable are your overall opinions or impressions of the following energy sources for producing electricity currently?" In June 2012, 40% were very or mainly favourable about nuclear power, compared to 36% shortly after Fukushima and 43% in 2008. Those expressing very or mainly unfavourable opinions on nuclear made up 27% of the poll in June, down from 34% after the Japanese catastrophe, and almost the same as the 28% in 2008. These results echo previous polls that showed the "Fukushima effect" was far more toxic in boardrooms - with companies such as RWE, E.on and Siemens pulling out of nuclear - than in people's living rooms.

READ MORE....