Guardian: “The GlobeScan poll, undertaken last summer before superstorm Sandy hit the Caribbean and New York, showed levels of public concern in 12 countries over environmental problems – which also also included fresh water shortages and depletion of natural resources – were even lower than 1992, when the first Earth summit was held in Rio”.” Read more
Solarcentury
The company I founded in 1998 to design and supply solar energy solutions for the built environment. Solarcentury
Solar Aid
The charity I founded in 2006, with a 5% contribution of Solarcentury profits, to help deliver solar lighting to Africa. Solar Aid
Support for new UK nuclear slips as indecision mounts.
April 12, 2013 Nuclear
Ipsos MORI: “The latest national face-to-face survey from Ipsos MORI shows that public support for building new nuclear power stations has fallen by eight percentage points in the last year to 42%.” Read more
Environmental concern at lowest level for 20 years in multiple countries.
February 28, 2013 Climate
Widespread concern about outlook for global economy in Davos.
January 23, 2013 Finance
Larry Elliot in the Guardian: “Davos has been through some violent mood swings these past five years. First there was denial. Then there was panic. Then there was hope that the worst was over. Now there is nagging concern that this downturn simply won’t come to an end.” Read more
UK media is ‘anti-renewables’ & neglects renewables industry voice.
November 28, 2012 Clean Energy
CC Group, a comms agency, conducts a study of how the renewable energy industry is portrayed in the national media, finding that only 21 per cent of national newspaper articles are positive about the renewable energy industry. Read more
Polls show huge UK preference for renewables over shale gas.
October 23, 2012 Clean Energy, Gas
Guardian: “More than two-thirds of people would rather have a wind turbine than a shale gas well near their home, according to a new opinion poll published on Tuesday. …..The YouGov poll showed that 55% of people want more windfarms, compared to just 17% who want more gas power stations. It also showed that less than one in three people thinks the government should give the go-ahead to fracking. RenewableUK’s deputy chief exective, Maf Smith, said: “Support for renewable energy is consistently strong, in this and other independent polls. One stark message from this survey is the public’s evident disenchantment with fossil fuels, including the unpopularity of fracking.”
US voters on both sides favour solar: 92% want more.
October 2, 2012 Clean Energy
Solar Industry Mag: “As the U.S. presidential election approaches, U.S. voters are being bombarded with anti-solar ads, courtesy of super-PACs backed by fossil-fuel industries. Last month at Solar Power International, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) President and CEO Rhone Resch told attendees that 80% of negative campaign ads target clean energy. …. this week, a new national survey reveals – perhaps surprisingly – that most voters of all political stripes actually support solar. ….more than 9 in 10 – 92% – of voters believe it is “important” for the U.S. to develop and use more solar energy.”
Poll shows majority of undecided US voters worry about climate change and want renewables.
September 25, 2012 Clean Energy, Climate
Business Green: “The poll from Yale and George Mason Universities surveyed 1,061 US adults and found that undecided voters’ attitude towards climate change and energy policy was much closer to that of declared Obama voters than Romney voters. Significantly, 55 per cent of undecided respondents also said that global warming was an important issue that was likely to influence their eventual vote. The survey found that 80 per cent of undecided voters believe global warming is happening, while only three per cent stated that it is not happening. This is largely in line with the 86 per cent of Obama voters who believe global warming is happening, and in stark contrast to the 45 per cent of Romney voters who agree global warming is occurring. A two-thirds majority of undecided voters also accept that if global warming is happening it is mostly caused by human activity, again in contrast to likely Romney voters. …..Moreover, the poll revealed strong support for Obama’s pro-renewables energy policy, confirming that 85 per cent of likely Obama voters and 83 per cent of undecided voters agree “that in the future US should use more renewable energy sources. Interestingly, 73 per cent of likely Romney voters also agree with the statement, suggesting Republican opposition to renewable energy support programmes may not be as popular with their base as has been widely believed.”
Climate change treatment in the US media feeds low level of concern.
September 23, 2012 Climate
Anna Clark: “According to the latest study from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, the American public’s concern about global warming can be sorted into six categories, ranging from alarmed (13%) and concerned (26%), to cautious, disengaged, doubtful and dismissive (that’s the other 61% of us). Among the many explanations offered for the knowledge gap are clashing worldviews, varying education levels, demographics, and the media’s handling of the issue. Even as evidence for climate change mounts and the consequences of the phenomenon become more severe, the amount of climate coverage on broadcast networks has plummeted.”
Nine out ten British want more renewable energy.
April 23, 2012 Clean Energy
Guardian: “Almost nine in 10 people want to see the government ramp up the UK’s use of clean domestic energy and reduce the country’s reliance on imported gas, a new YouGov poll reveals. Just under two-thirds of the 2,884 people questioned on behalf of campaign group Friends of the Earth listed wind, wave, solar or tidal as power sources they wanted to see playing a greater role in the UK’s electricity mix over the next decade, while just 2% backed an increase in gas capacity. …Currently, only 9.5% of UK electricity comes from renewable energy sources.”
Poll hows huge majority in favour of windfall tax on Big 6.
Independent: “Nine out of 10 people support The Independent’s calls for an independent public inquiry into the Big Six energy companies. Meanwhile, seven out of 10 think a levy on excessive energy profits is a good idea. The overwhelming public support for our campaign for fair energy prices is revealed in a survey published today by YouGov on behalf of Friends of the Earth and Compass. It follows yesterday’s news that energy watchdog Ofgem is considering price controls on the Big Six and an inquiry into their business practices, supporting two of the key points in The Independent’s Fair Prices campaign….The brand consultancy Siegel+Gale named Npower as having the worst customer service out of 122 UK companies surveyed. This put the company slightly behind competitor EDF. British Gas and E.on were also in the worst 10.”
UK public overwhelmingly supports wind and solar.
December 14, 2011 Clean Energy
A YouGov poll of 1,696 people commissioned by The Sunday Times shows 56% want to see more wind energy capacity in the UK and 74% think solar energy capacity should be increased. Only 19% want wind power to be scaled back, and just 12% think the rollout of solar panels should be blocked.
“Climate-denying candidates make more Americans believe in global warming”.
September 16, 2011 Climate
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows 83% of Americans now believe that climate change is happening. That’s up from 75% last year. Grist: “At least one political scientist says that GOP candidates may have helped cause the increase with their increasingly over-the-top blowhard denialism.”
Support for nuclear rises in UK notwithstanding Fukushima.
September 9, 2011 Nuclear
A university poll shows 41% believe the benefits of nuclear outweigh the risks, compared with 38% in 2010 and 32 per cent in 2005. The proportion who feel that the risks are greater than the benefits dropped to 28% from 36% in 2010 and 41 per cent%. But support is “relucatant” and gender-skewed: many more men than women favour nuclear.
Concern about global warming rises in developing world, meanwhile falling in developed.
August 29, 2011 Climate
According to a Nielsen global survey of online consumers, the US has one of the steepest declines in concern. Fewer than half Americans worry about climate change and only 58% of Brits, less than in China and Russia. But 90 per cent of Latin Americans are concerned, up from 85 per cent in 2009, and 93 per cent of Thais. 69% in 51 nations are concerned: essentially unchanged over the last four years. The 48% of concerned Americans is down from compared to 51% in 2009 and 62% in 2007. In China concern fell from 77% in 2009 to 64% in 2011, nearer to 2007′s figure of 60%.
“Don’t tell anyone I said so but the lights are still on in Tokyo”.
August 10, 2011 Nuclear
So writes David Pilling in the FT. Two thirds of the nuclear plants are offline – only 17 of 54 are on – and Japan is not particularly missing that fraction of the 30% of its electricity nuclear used to provide. Toyko’s massive efficiency drive has cut demand 10-20% at the time of maximum air conditioning. And 30% of Japanese now oppose nuclear power, polls show. By May next year, all Japanese nuclear plants have to be shut for maintenance. Japan has only a 1% renewables contribution, versus Germany’s 18%.
Citizens across world oppose nuclear power, favour solar, poll finds.
June 23, 2011 Nuclear
A new opinion poll from Ipsos MORI tells us how the battle for hearts and minds is going: 62% of citizens in 24 countries across the world oppose the use of nuclear energy, with a quarter of those having change their minds after Fukushima. In the UK, the split is 50:50. In France, 67% are opposed. The Guardian environment editor finds himself impressed with the data. Solar is the most popular energy technology.
US public has little idea how certain scientists are about climate change.
June 21, 2011 Climate
A Yale University poll finds that just 13% of US citizens get the correct answer when asked, which is that in fact about 97 percent of American scientists say that climate change is happening.
Almost three quarter of Japanese favour nuclear phase out.
June 14, 2011 Nuclear
So a newspaper poll shows. But 51% think the reactors shut down now should be started up if they pass government safety tests.
Italians vote overwhelmingly for no nuclear power.
June 13, 2011 Clean Energy, Nuclear
94% vote no, with a 57% turnout, where 50% was required to make the vote binding: a crushing blow for Berlusconi’s plans. He tells a press conference that all his government’s energies will go into developing renewables now.
Government policy causes crisis of confidence in UK cleantech sector
June 1, 2011 Clean Energy
In an E&Y opinion poll, only 14% profess confidence that industries will grow and jobs created. In November 64% were upbeat.
Trust in business partly recovers, but opinion is building against status quo.
June 29, 2009 Change for Good
A mid-year survey by Edelman’s in the US, UK, France, Germany, China and India shows 52 % of respondents saying they trust business, up from 46% in the depths of the crisis of confidence at the time of the World Economic Summit, and only 2% behind the 2008 position. Read more