Support for nuclear energy development in Germany and Poland
Description
Data for the article: Support for nuclear power and proenvironmental attitudes: The cases of Germany and Poland. Article abstract: Europe's energy system faces significant challenges in reducing its dependence on imports and decarbonising itself. In this context, a resurgence of discussion has occurred in recent years about the future role of nuclear power, which currently supplies one-quarter of the European Union’s electricity. Key obstacles that limit the development of this technology are low public support and the perception that this type of energy is particularly harmful to the environment. We investigate the relationship between support for the development of nuclear power and environmental values, knowledge, cognitive abilities, and assessment of the effectiveness of mitigation measures using data from random-quota surveys in Germany (n=933) and Poland (n=878). Using a logistic regression model, we demonstrate that support for nuclear power is significantly higher in Poland than in Germany, and that—contrary to the results of previous studies—in Poland, support for nuclear power relates less negatively to environmental values. It also relates positively to the degree of public knowledge—both about nuclear energy and the causes of climate change. Our findings contribute to understanding of the mechanisms that shape attitudes towards nuclear power and to assessing its potential for public support in the European Union. Study highlights: 1. Support for nuclear power is twice as high in Poland as in Germany. 2. No fixed link exists between environmental attitudes and support for nuclear power. 3. Negative views of nuclear power coincide with low knowledge of the causes of climate change. 4. Those who lack knowledge of climate change hold the most varied attitudes towards nuclear energy. 5. In Poland, those who understand the causes of climate change demonstrate both environmental values and high support for nuclear power. Information about a dataset: The data was collected as part of the original survey, conducted in June 2019, using random stratified samples in Germany and Poland. The participants were adults (18–55 years old), with at least a secondary education. These sample selection criteria were imposed to reduce potential difficulties with computer use among older people or with understanding the questions among those who lack secondary education. Hypothesis that were verified using the dataset: H1. Pro-environmental and pro-climate attitudes are paired with low support for nuclear energy. H2. In Poland, pro-environmental and pro-climate attitudes have less of a negative impact on support for nuclear energy development than in Germany. H3. Knowledge about nuclear power and the causes of climate change is linked to greater support for the development of nuclear power.
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The data was collected as part of the original survey, conducted in June 2019, using random stratified samples in Germany and Poland. The participants were adults (18–55 years old), with at least a secondary education. These sample selection criteria were imposed to reduce potential difficulties with computer use among older people or with understanding the questions among those who lack secondary education. The original survey can be found under the link below. The survey covered more data than is shared in the dataset.