Environmental citizenship and public attitudes to hydrogen energy technologies

Flynn, Rob; Bellaby, Paul; Ricci, Miriam

doi:10.1080/09644010802421539

Cited by 23 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…These and other studies (see Flynn et al ., 2008), and our findings about hydrogen energy, suggest that while the ‘value‐action gap’ has some validity, its explanation requires a different and multi‐layered, multi‐factorial, approach. Focusing on beliefs and values as phenomena separately from context and practices is too limited.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 75%

The ‘Value-Action Gap’ in Public Attitudes towards Sustainable Energy: The Case of Hydrogen Energy

Flynn

Bellaby

Ricci

2009

The Sociological Review

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There is now increasing evidence that the public has become much more aware of global warming, climate change and environmental risks. This has been repeatedly demonstrated in a number of official surveys and other research. However, the salience of these issues varies; for some social groups, there are other more significant problems and urgent priorities. It has also been found that while expressing strong beliefs about the negative consequences of global warming, or dependence on fossil fuels, or more positive approval of alternative and renewable energy sources, people do not seem to have translated those opinions into practical actions to limit their energy use in their domestic consumption, lifestyles, or travel patterns, for example. It is this apparent 'discrepancy' between stated beliefs (and values) and behaviour, which comprises the so-called 'value-action gap'. Various writers have observed this in different contexts previously, as will be discussed below. In this chapter, we examine the importance of the value-action gap in relation to hydrogen energy and the emerging hydrogen economy. Qualitative and quantitative data are presented from a series of focus groups and a telephone questionnaire survey of selected samples in seven different areas of England and Wales 1 . The chapter first gives a very brief outline of the nature of hydrogen energy and its potential uses as an innovative technology. Secondly, it reviews selected literature about public attitudes towards environmental and energy issues and the apparent valueaction gap. Findings from our recent research are then discussed. Finally, some general conclusions are offered to account for the ambivalence revealed in this case of hydrogen energy, and the disjunction between people's awareness of an energy crisis and their reluctance to change behaviour. Hydrogen energy and the 'hydrogen economy'With the rapid depletion of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, oil), governments and energy corporations have been increasingly investing in research and development in alternative and sustainable (renewable) energy sources. The Stern

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 75%

The ‘Value-Action Gap’ in Public Attitudes towards Sustainable Energy: The Case of Hydrogen Energy

Flynn

Bellaby

Ricci

2009

The Sociological Review

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“…First, deliberative methods are complex, time consuming, and expensive (Flynn et al, 2008), raising the prospect of delays to the construction of new plants for electricity generation and thus undermining carbon-emission reduction. Second, expectations of upstream engagement have already been shown to be extravagant (Wynne, 2005), with such actions often 'closing down' rather than 'opening up' debate and undermining rather than building public trust (Petts, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discourses of Energy Infrastructure Development: A Q-Method Study of Electricity Transmission Line Siting in the UK

Cotton

Devine‐Wright

2011

Environ Plan A

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The construction of new electricity-transmission infrastructure is construed in UK energy policy documents as necessary for achieving govemment targets to increase low-carbon electricity provision to combat climate change and ensure long-term energy security. Siting high-voltage overhead lines and substations is publicly controversial, however, due to their potential environtnental, social, and economic impacts. Also controversial are issues of governance, procedural justice, and technological choice in decision making, particularly in light of recent legislative changes to the planning of nationally significant infrastructure projects in the UK. This study uses the Q-method to assess the discourses emerging from stakeholder and local community actor responses to line siting in the context of proposed transmission network upgrades in the southwest of England to support a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset. The analysis reveals three discourses, representing divergent positions on the adequacy of existing procedures to enable community participation, trust in network operators, the kinds of system configurations (centralised versus decentralised) required to meet the challenges of climate change and energy security, and the local impacts of overhead lines. Whilst the profile of how diverse respondents loaded upon each discourse showed expected patterns, the range of positions adopted by local residents support previous studies showing the limits of the 'NIMBY' conceptualisation of local protest. Whilst greater information provision and more upstream citizen participation in contexts of transmission line planning is recommended to enhance public trust, the limitations of such an approach in the absence of greater clarity at the national level regarding the configuration of future energy systems is discussed. IntroductionIn response to the challenges of climate change and long-term energy security, the governments of many industrialised countries are opting for extensive changes to systems of electricity generation. In the UK a target has been set for 40% of electricity generation to be from renewable energy technologies and nuclear power by 2020 (DECC, 2009). Whilst these changes in electricity generation have been subject to media reporting, political commentary, and academic study, by comparison far less attention has been paid to the consequences of such changes upon existing infrastructures of electricity transmission and distribution-that is, to what is commonly referred to in the UK as the 'national grid'-despite the fact that new low-carbon sources will, in many cases, require new infrastructures to connect generation to industrial and domestic electricity users.Like many industrialised countries, the UK entered the 21st century with an extensive and centralised system of electricity generation, transmission, and supply. Electricity is generated primarily by large-scale power stations situated in remote locations at considerable distance from industrial and domestic users. It is then tran...

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“…Yet the public might view as a risk solutions that are simply novel and, whether or not grounded in science, that perception can be real in its effect on the actions of politicians, who must seek re-election (Sciencewise 2009, Flynn et al 2008. Finally, from a business point of view, innovations will not diffuse unless the product either meets an existing demand better than the solution it replaces or else creates new demand.…”

Section: Concepts and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Towards sustainable energy: are there lessons from the history of the early factory system?

Bellaby

Flynn

Ricci

2010

Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research

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Development of sustainable energy has been slow. We compare it with a historical example of rapid innovation Á the first factory system. The first factory system in the English Derwent Valley mills in the eighteenth century was based not on new technology like the steam engine, but on the familiar water mill. The locale was less prosperous than others in its agriculture and cottage textile industry, far from the English trade hub London and difficult to access. The drivers were ''bottomup''. Among the lessons drawn for sustainable energy are that bottom-up innovation, using whichever technology is practical in the context and local skills and know-how, might be a viable alternative to the current attempt at topdown innovation. The locales likely to succeed would have human resources, rather than significant finance capital, but a growing market for their products, the development of which is underpinned by institutions of the state and international cooperation.

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Environmental citizenship and public attitudes to hydrogen energy technologies

Cited by 23 publications

References 25 publications

The ‘Value-Action Gap’ in Public Attitudes towards Sustainable Energy: The Case of Hydrogen Energy

The ‘Value-Action Gap’ in Public Attitudes towards Sustainable Energy: The Case of Hydrogen Energy

Discourses of Energy Infrastructure Development: A Q-Method Study of Electricity Transmission Line Siting in the UK

Towards sustainable energy: are there lessons from the history of the early factory system?

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