Transforming the UK Energy System: Public Values, Attitudes and Acceptability

1. Transforming the UK Energy System: Public Values, Attitudes and Acceptability January 2011 - December 2012 DECC Presentation 02/05/12

2. CU Consortium • Psychology, Cardiff University • PI: Prof Nick Pidgeon • Researcher Co-I: Dr Catherine Butler • Researcher Co-I: Dr Karen Parkhill • Researcher: Christina Demski • Co-I: Lorraine Whitmarsh • Engineering, Cardiff University • Co-PI: Prof Nick Jenkins • Researcher: Dr Tracy Sweet • Researcher: Dr ModassurChaudry • Researcher: Brian Drysdale • Architecture, Cardiff University • Co-PI: Prof Peter Pearson • Psychology, Nottingham University (attached to Psych, Cardiff) • Researcher Co-I: Dr Alexa Spence

3. Objectives To identify key trade-offs in system change & stakeholder & public responses to these To build knowledge and understanding of public attitudes, values and acceptability To create qualitative and quantitative data sets for examination of the perspectives of varied publics across the UK on whole energy system To develop and utilise innovative methodological approaches for examining public values, attitudes and acceptability To develop a range of generic materials that can be utilised as a basis for working with varied publics

4. Work Packages

5. Many Scenarios

6. Work Package 2: Public Deliberations • 3 Pilot Workshops • Cardiff • 6 Main Deliberative Workshops • Different UK locations • 12 Participants per W/S • Diverse sample: • E.g. mix of Gender, Age, Ethnicity, Educational qualifications, SEG, Household tenure

7. WP 2: Day format

8. MY 2050 in the Workshops

9. Meta Issues Policy Imperatives for Change On Climate Change… Stuart:- I’m not overly concerned [laughter] mainly because I watch a lot of programmes on it and everyone says there are major concerns with climate change, but there’s a lot of programmes which say that historically climates have changed anyway [LATER] …Moderator:- So I guess how would you feel about having a carbon tax on goods then?... Stuart:- That would be fuel tax isn’t it? Tax on fuel, or import tax on fuel the more fuel you’d use the more you pay. I certainly agree with that. (Cardiff) • Climate change, Energy Security & Affordability • Public interpretive frames differ to policy (e.g. not p/kWh) • No straightforward relationship between views on meta issues and views on energy system change

10. Imagining Future Change Future energy supply… Jeff: -Wind turbines Lewis:- Waves Eric:- Solar Ann:- Wind Rachel:- I think with the wind and anything to do with the weather, we get enough of it here [giggles from group] Moderator: -And onshore wind/off shore wind, do you mind? Lewis:- Both [nodding and murmurs of agreement from group] Moderator:- So what do you see the benefits of wind and wave, wood the things you have mentioned? Jeff:- It’s free Ann:- Natural Jeff: Natural, aye (Glasgow) • General positivity toward change • Negative conceptions of things not seen as involving change/non-transitions (e.g. biofuels, CCS) On Biomass… Fiona - It’s another oil and you would exploit countries who will allow you to have land and everyone else wants that land so I think you would end up with more wars and water issues. Cheryl:- Yeah it feels like a step backwards… it feels like come on guys, we can do something better than that. I don’t know what it is about it, maybe it is because it’s just burning stuff, it doesn’t seem very sophisticated or sustainable and it seems like they have just panicked and said we’ll just burn stuff. (Cumbria)

11. System Change in Context Risk and Insecurity…. Michael: To be honest with you I think part of it is that if anyone sticks their head above the parapet to try and do anything… I’m frightened that I am going to get you know into trouble by doing something that’s slightly different. And I think that’s part of the problem. Jason: Exactly, it comes down to familiarity doesn’t it?... that’s how you implement change. Once it becomes familiar. Matt: …And then that [government cavity wall scheme] started and I’d say now that about 2/3rd of the estate… one saw someone else getting it done and said “what is happening here?” and then they got it done. (Cumbria) • Difficulty in imagining change when embedded in daily life- How will change happen? – • ‘Head above the parapet’ • Control and agency Rose:-… I don’t want somebody coming in and saying, “you can’t run that, you’re going to jail for putting that heater on all night”, but I do think something will need to be done because we need to stop, we know this, we know what we’re damaging… (Glasgow) Active Management… Ann:- I’m terrible for leaving the computer monitor running when it could be switched off. If I knew there was only so much electricity I would go around switching things off, if I wasn’t needing them. So it would probably be better… (Edinburgh)

12. Sensory Experience Rose:- I had that (electric heating)in a previous home and I thought that was terrible, it wasn’t cost effective, it wasn’t quick enough…The gas is effective, quick and that is what you need in this day and age, to use what you need… (Glasgow) • Coal, Oil and Gas viewed as archaic, dirty, limited (running out), and conflict generating BUT… in everyday experience… • Electrification- cars, cooking and heating • Existing interpretive frames (e.g. economy7) • Controllability James:- if they could get an electric car to that stage where you could get electric cars at the same performance as diesel and petrol then I would do definitely, but not at the moment. (Edinburgh) Lilly:- I love my coal fire, especially when it is pouring down rain outside and you come in and you’ve got a coal fire there is nothing better. (Cardiff) Amy: I wasn’t keen on an electric hob. I like to see the flame, I think it’s safer. (London).

13. Social Contracts Values and Intangibles • Instrumental framings • Flying – beyond travel (multi-culturalism, aspirations, work v leisure, enjoyment) • Meat – beyond sustenance (social interaction, pleasure and meal times) …in my eyes it may be a silly thing to say, why have a world when you can’t visit it? Why have other counties when you can’t go there. It seems silly that we can’t visit other countries and cultures and actually learn. What is there to learn in life? (Nigel, London) Irene:- Something I wouldn’t change is not eating meat [laughter and agreement from group] (Merthyr) On flying… Amy:- …Tenerife, I go a lot and my family used to live in the states and I went a lot out there, so here there and everywhere, I am a retired lady now and I worked all my life, every day of my life, and now I think, “well I should just enjoy myself” so I do. (Glasgow)

14. Politics of Place • Place and context significant for views on system change • Transport – rural/urban distinction • Siting of energy infrastructure (e.g. wind farms • Politics and history (e.g. Scotland) Public transport and rural/urban distinction… Monica:- I was just listening to other people and it has impacted in this area particularly because we are very rural and we are all reliant on our cars -the infrastructure of the public transport is woeful. I live in the middle of nowhere so I have to have a car. I work in various places, I couldn’t get to any of them without my own transport – not at all. (Cumbria) Politics and history… Olivia:- It is not as bad, but I really don’t think we want to be the dustbin of the world for that kind of thing (carbon emissions) (Glasgow) Siting and Place… Moderator:- Okay, so would you want more onshore as well then? Louise:- Well if they’re chosen maybe carefully, aye, I mean the Fenwick moor one, White Lees is no bother there (Glasgow)

15. Technological Realism • Technological optimism juxtaposed with technological realism On Carbon Capture and Storage Jeff:- “See, I worry about that whenever humans try and transport something dangerous, they always make an arse of it somewhere along the line, like oil. The damage we have done with big oil tankers spilling out, we would have to transport this and store it and obviously I don’t know how that gets out, is it like a vapour or liquid or ice I don’t know, but if you leave humans to transport something from a to b at some point of them doing that they will make a balls up and it could end up back in the environment. That is just my opinions on humans, but we always make an arse of it somewhere”. (Edinburgh)

16. Trust, Control and Systems of (In)equality On mistrust and the Green Deal… Olivia:- No you see these utilities were nationalised industries but they no longer are, they are now money making machines, and I mean the actual, they were talking about the price of gas was going up but yet the actual price they are buying at wasn’t… • Distrust prevalent (particularly towards energy companies) • Approaches to transitions • Responsibility, Paying for transitions and profit-making Steven: - Fuel companies have a vested interest in a non move to renewable energy because it means that their profits are going to be hit when people move to a clean system. They’re not going to be making that money of oil and things like that. (Cumbria) On Responsibility for Low-carbon Transitions… Matt: …I would say it is more the electricity companies or the oil companies. When you are told how much they are making a day, in profit, not just making it, but in profit, and then how much we are having to pay for petrol and stuff. You know we pay more they make more… (Cumbria)

17. Moving Forward…

18. Understanding Risk research group, Cardiff University www.understanding-risk.org For more information on Work Package 2 please contact us on the following emails: pidgeonn@cardiff.ac.uk butlercc1@cardiff.ac.uk parkhillk@cardiff.ac.uk www.ukerc.ac.uk (Energy Supply)