Government Energy Policy Swims Against the Tide of Public Opinion
Q1 On this card is a list of fuels used in power stations in Britain today. Thinking ahead to ten years from now, which, if any, of these fuels do you think power stations will be using more of?
Q1 On this card is a list of fuels used in power stations in Britain today. Thinking ahead to ten years from now, which, if any, of these fuels do you think power stations will be using more of?
| 160 | % |
| Coal | 6 |
| Natural gas | 39 |
| Nuclear energy | 47 |
| Oil | 9 |
| Renewable forms of energy (eg wind power) | 25 |
| Other | * |
| None of these | * |
| Don't know | 6 |
Q2 And which, if any, do you think power stations will be using less of?
| 160 | % |
| Coal | 70 |
| Natural gas | 9 |
| Nuclear energy | 17 |
| Oil | 20 |
| Renewable forms of energy (eg wind power) | 1 |
| Other | * |
| None of these | * |
| Don't know | 2 |
Q3 Still thinking ahead to ten years from now, which, if any, of these do you think power stations should be using more of?
| 160 | % |
| Coal | 12 |
| Natural gas | 31 |
| Nuclear energy | 15 |
| Oil | 5 |
| Renewable forms of energy (eg wind power) | 43 |
| Other | 1 |
| None of these | * |
| Don't know | 7 |
Q4 And which, if any, do you think power stations should be using less of?
| 160 | % |
| Coal | 28 |
| Natural gas | 9 |
| Nuclear energy | 50 |
| Oil | 22 |
| Renewable forms of energy (eg wind power) | * |
| Other | * |
| None of these | 1 |
| Don't know | 5 |
Q5 The government is currently undertaking a review of the energy sources used to generate electricity in Britain's power stations. How much, if anything, do you know about this Review of Energy Sources for Power Generation?
| 160 | % |
| A great deal | 1 |
| A fair amount | 4 |
| Just a little | 20 |
| Heard of, but know nothing about it | 24 |
| Never heard of | 49 |
| Don't know | 3 |
Q6 How much influence, if at all, do you think each of the following should have in making decisions about how the electricity in Britain's power stations is to be generated in future?
| 160 | A great deal | A little | None at all | Don't know |
| 160 | % | % | % | % |
| The Government | 51 | 36 | 8 | 5 |
| The companies who produce the power | 49 | 40 | 7 | 5 |
| Environmental groups (such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth etc) | 48 | 41 | 7 | 4 |
| People working in the electricity and associated industries | 38 | 49 | 8 | 5 |
| General Public customers | 54 | 36 | 6 | 4 |
| Business and industrial customers | 44 | 45 | 5 | 5 |
Q7 As you may know, much of our electricity is generated by power stations burning coal or gas. In recent years, the proportion of energy generated in gas-fired power stations has been increasing, and that provided by coal-fired power stations has been decreasing. The Government's review of energy sources is considering whether or not to take steps to restrict the move towards more gas-fired rather than coal-fired power stations. Here is a list of considerations it could take into account in making its decision. Which of these would you say are the two or three most important considerations it should take into account?
| 160 | % |
| Possible loss of jobs in the coal and related industries | 20 |
| Possible creation of jobs in the gas and related industries | 15 |
| Which fuel is least damaging to the environment | 67 |
| Which fuel will provide cheaper electricity | 41 |
| Which fuel would have least impact on people living near the power stations | 34 |
| The views of the companies responsible for running the power stations | 6 |
| The need to support the coal industry in Britain | 12 |
| The need to support the natural gas industry in Britain | 10 |
| How long supplies of each fuel will last | 50 |
| The need to promote competition in power stations | 5 |
| Other | * |
| None of these | * |
| Don't know | 4 |
Q8 And which would you say is the single most important consideration that it should take into account?
| 160 | % |
| Possible loss of jobs in the coal and related industries | 6 |
| Possible creation of jobs in the gas and related industries | 3 |
| Which fuel is least damaging to the environment | 46 |
| Which fuel will provide cheaper electricity | 11 |
| Which fuel would have least impact on people living near the power stations | 7 |
| The views of the companies responsible for running the power stations | 1 |
| The need to support the coal industry in Britain | 3 |
| The need to support the natural gas industry in Britain | 2 |
| How long supplies of each fuel will last | 15 |
| The need to promote competition in power stations | 1 |
| Other | * |
| None of these | * |
| Don't know | 1 |
Q9 Still thinking about how electricity in Britain is generated, which fuel - natural gas or coal - do you think ....?
| 160 | Natural gas | Coal | Neither | Don't know |
| 160 | % | % | % | % |
| ... is most damaging to the environment? | 14 | 60 | 67 | 20 |
| ... would provide the cheapest electricity? | 3 | 2 | 16 | 18 |
Q10 The government is currently considering how it can reduce the levels of potentially harmful gases such as carbon dioxide that are released into the atmosphere. From this card, which, if any of the following measures do you think would be most successful in helping to reduce the levels of harmful gases that are released into the atmosphere, if they were introduced?
| 160 | % |
| Increasing taxes on industries that pollute the atmosphere | 44 |
| Increasing the cost of running lorries and other heavy goods vehicles | 17 |
| Increasing the cost of running a car | 9 |
| Providing subsidies and other incentives to encourage the use of public transport | 43 |
| Reducing emissions from power stations | 49 |
| A public information campaign to encourage people to conserve energy | 21 |
| Encourage the development of more environmentally-friendly cars and commercial vehicles | 52 |
| Promote car-sharing schemes for commuters | 20 |
| Other | 1 |
| None of these | 1 |
| Don't know | 4 |
Q11 And which, if any, do you think would be least successful in helping to reduce the levels of harmful gas emissions?
| 160 | % |
| Increasing taxes on industries that pollute the atmosphere | 11 |
| Increasing the cost of running lorries and other heavy goods vehicles | 20 |
| Increasing the cost of running a car | 35 |
| Providing subsidies and other incentives to encourage the use of public transport | 4 |
| Reducing emissions from power stations | 3 |
| A public information campaign to encourage people to conserve energy | 15 |
| Encourage the development of more environmentally-friendly cars and commercial vehicles | 3 |
| Promote car-sharing schemes for commuters | 25 |
| Other | * |
| None of these | 1 |
| Don't know | 5 |
Technical details
MORI interviewed a representative sample of the 2,035 adults, across Great Britain, between 23 and 28 July 1998. Interviews were conducted face-to-face in respondents homes. An asterisk (*) denotes a figure of less then 0.5%, but greater than zero. Base is all (2,035) unless otherwise stated.
More insights about Public Sector
