Public risk perceptions of shale gas development: A comprehensive review

“Do you Know What's Underneath your Feet?”: Underground Landscapes & Place‐Based Risk Perceptions of Proposed Shale Gas Sites in Rural British Communities☆

“…Instead, their focus is on US and United Kingdom (UK) participants' concern about uncertainties around shale gas risks, and how fracking might disturb the Earth and cause instability. A growing body of literature has examined risk perceptions related to fracking, both in terms of the broader public opinion on the practice, and concern expressed by people near proposed or existing shale gas sites (see Tan et al 2022). Despite many existing public concerns tied to subsurface issues, little research has focused explicitly on the underground as a distinctive part of place that shapes localized concerns with shale interventions.…”

“…Precisely what options are pursued to reduce carbon emissions and meet global demand depends in part on public perceptions about different energy sources and practices where new projects are proposed (Viklund 2004). Risk perceptions can influence public support or opposition to different types of energy projects (Tan et al 2022) which can, in turn, influence whether a proposed energy project moves forward (Heagle, Naterer, and Pope 2011; Mulvihill, Winfield, and Etcheverry 2013; Shaw et al 2015; Simard 2018). While traditionally public concerns about energy‐related risks have been focused on aboveground processes, more recently an emphasis on subsurface risks (e.g.…”