Public Attitudes, Understanding, and Engagement in relation to Low-Carbon Energy: A selective review of academic and non-academic literatures Report for RCUK Energy Programme Public Attitudes, Understanding, and Engagement in relation to Low-Carbon Energy: A selective review of academic and non-academic literatures Report for RCUK Energy Programme January 2011 Lorraine Whitmarsh1,2 Paul Upham2,3 Wouter Poortinga1,4 Carly McLachlan2,7 Andrew Darnton5 Patrick Devine-Wright6 Christina Demski1 Fionnguala Sherry-Brennan6 1 School of Psychology, Cardiff University 2 Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research 3 Manchester Business School, University of Manchester 4 Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University 5 AD Research and Analysis 6 School of Geography, University of Exeter 7 School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester 2 Summary and Recommendations 1. Background Purpose of the report This study on public attitudes to, and engagement with, low-carbon energy draws together the results of UK-relevant social research and evidence, as of October 2010, in order to inform the RCUK Energy Programme at both strategic and operational levels. Our sources were identified through a systematic search of bibliographic databases and a formal call for evidence issued to practitioners and academics in order to identify non-academic (‘grey’) sources and forthcoming academic publications. The authors are all active in energy social science research. Overview of the report The report provides an introduction to some of the most relevant social science theory and concepts relating to public engagement (chapter 3), before reviewing findings on attitudes and engagement relating to energy supply, storage and distribution technologies (chapter 4); energy demand attitudes and engagement (chapter 5); and energy systems and research engagement (chapter 6). We also discuss cross-cutting themes, knowledge gaps and recommendations for public engagement in the RCUK Energy Programme. Public perceptions of energy matter Current and emergent energy and environmental targets imply significant change to UK energy systems. In particular, decarbonising those systems while ensuring sustainable, affordable supply has major ramifications for the public, who will be asked to accept new energy infrastructure and technologies, and to change patterns of demand. Understanding public attitudes to these changes, and the ways in which energy and technologies are themselves understood and used, is vital. This understanding is all the more important given recent media coverage of climate science which some fear have undermined public confidence in science and eroded trust in scientists. There are good reasons to engage the public in energy research There are a wide range of reasons for engaging the public in energy research, upstream in the RD&D chain. These may include dispelling ignorance and misunderstanding; raising scientific literacy, increasing trust in scientists, mobilising favourable attitudes to scientific and technological innovation, changing behaviour, and using public perceptions as a resource of inspiration, oversight and legitimacy that may temper and moderate scientific and technological innovations with uncertain and potentially risky outcomes. There is also a normative (value-based) rationale for public engagement: the public arguably have a right to influence decisions about public-funded research and technologies or policies that may affect them. 2. Theory Theoretical underpinning Attitude theory from psychology dominates studies of public perceptions of energy and engagement in energy research. Attitudes are hypothetical constructs that refer to an individual’s evaluation of something. Attitudes are considered to have three main dimensions: knowledge, relating to the intellect and cognition; affect, relating to emotion and feeling; and behavioural intentions. Attitudes can change and are influenced by a range of factors, often ambivalent or uncertain. Attitudes to objects (such as climate change or 3 energy efficiency) are frequently not predictive of behaviour (such as turning off unnecessary lights or supporting new, local energy infrastructure). Attitudes can sometimes be changed through persuasion and experience, but they can also change as a result of behaviour change itself. This relates to a second, less commonly used, but increasingly popular theory of behaviour change: the ‘practices’ approach from the sociology of consumption. In this approach, ‘attitudes’ rarely feature and are considered secondary: in terms of explaining behaviour, habits and routines are seen as primary factors. Changing the social, economic, political and technological context of individuals’ daily lives is seen as the main route to behaviour change. The context in which individuals live is seen as constraining behaviour change and conditioning attitudes. Thus the practices approach reverses the assumed causality: attitudes follow from behaviour, not the other way round, and the social and technological environment strongly influences what behaviour is possible. This emphasis on the way in which people are embedded in and influenced by their environments is also prominent in socio-technical transitions research and Science and Technology Studies. The first of these provides theoretical explanations of how the transition to new energy systems may take place. To date, the role of the public in these theoretical accounts has arguably been under-explored. Science and Technology Studies argues that while technology, research and risk governance have generally been restricted to experts and policy makers, there are nonetheless good reasons for involving the lay public, as outlined above. Science and Technology Studies also argues that it is legitimate to perceive energy technologies in a variety of ways: opinion divergence is not necessarily a sign of ignorance or misunderstanding. Finally, there is also a strengthening body of theoretically-informed work on why the concept of NIMBYism is problematic and unhelpful in explaining public objection to new energy infrastructure. This work argues, for example, that the NIMBY concept overlooks the way in which individuals form strong attachments to locations and that places can become a part of individuals’ identities. Understanding public objection to a new infrastructure proposal as a threat to individual identity and to locally valued environments begs the question of whether a proposal or its presentation can be modified so as to be more consistent with local opinion. Research in this direction in turn draws on environmental governance concepts, which includes concepts relating to power in planning and economic systems, and institutions, procedures and fora for negotiation and deliberation with the public. 3. State of the field Before outlining the main lessons from the literature in terms of public engagement, we first list below particular gaps in the literature that our analysis has exposed, and that we consider important areas for future research. These give an indication of where future research and engagement priorities may lie: • Governance structures and issues relating to public engagement in energy policy and planning at local, regional, national and international levels • The conditionality, contingency and fluidity of energy perceptions and attitudes. In particular, development of attitudes before, during and after the construction of wind-farms or implementation of transport policies • Public attitudes to nuclear fusion • Unlocking and locking-in socially-embedded technology use and practice 4 • Public attitudes to energy-efficient and/or low emission vehicles • Public attitudes to low-carbon diets • Public attitudes to and demand for air-conditioning • Willingness to save energy associated with cooking behaviours • Segmenting on particular energy-use attitudes/behaviours, e.g., cooking, heating (rather than environmental attitudes) • Public responses to less well-known renewable energy technologies, e.g., biomass and geothermal • Interdisciplinary work on energy consumption which integrates economic and social sciences • Applying theoretical perspectives to both supply and demand side issues (e.g., place identity and domestic energy use) to integrate (cf. need for energy systems research) • There is little information on how attitudes to new energy infrastructure evolve over time, from the development proposal through to living in proximity • There is little literature on attitudes to gas pipelines; this may become more significant with use of CCS • Most of the UK research on attitudes to micro-generation has been commissioned by government agencies and is relatively limited in quantity • There is hardly any work on UK attitudes to energy systems and scenarios, perhaps partly because of the multi-disciplinary challenges • The value of conventional, consumer-oriented marketing has yet to be fully investigated for the purpose of encouraging domestic investment in microgen and energy efficiency measures • Energy consumption should be examined at household (as well as individual) level, and include group dynamics and negotiation of energy decision-making and practices at the household level • Early studies suggest that marine energy technologies may not be the ‘Out of Sight Out of Mind’ option that some may have thought. More research is needed as more devices are deployed and information on impacts moves more from theoretical models to monitoring results. Table (i) overleaf provides