Fears over nuclear power were falling, study shows

A long-term analysis of New Zealanders’ attitudes to the environment found that concern about the safety of nuclear power had fallen significantly by late last year compared to a decade earlier.

But the researcher involved says damage caused to Japan’s nuclear power plants by the earthquake and tsunami - combined with the devastation in Christchurch after the February 22 earthquake - is likely to mean a significant change were the survey to be conducted now.

Professor of Marketing Philip Gendall says nearly 50 per cent of New Zealanders polled last year said nuclear power stations were extremely or very dangerous for the environment. Ten years earlier, when the same question was asked, that was the view of 64 per cent.

The survey, entitled New Zealanders and the Environment, was conducted by School of Communication, Journalism and Marketing researchers as part of the annual International Social Survey Programme involving academic institutions in 47 countries.

Professor Gendall says 1172 New Zealanders were polled between August and November last year. The attitudes to the environment questions were the same as those asked by the survey in 1993 and 2000.

“It is interesting that, even before the nuclear crisis in Japan, 49 per cent of respondents thought the environment was seriously endangered by nuclear power,” he says. “However, that was less than the 64 per cent of New Zealanders who had the same opinion 10 years ago. Given what is currently happening in Japan, that is likely to change in the next study.

“Our results reflect the pattern of attitudes to nuclear power around the world. In countries without nuclear power, public support for it is lower than in countries that do have it, but support for nuclear energy has increased over the past decade. However, events like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island have an abrupt and significant affect on public opinion.”

When asked how New Zealand should meet its future energy needs, 10 per cent of respondents said nuclear power should be given priority. The same survey was also carried out in Japan.

Overall, environmental concerns took a back seat last year to pressing worries about the economy, healthcare, education and crime. Just nine per cent of respondents put the environment as the most important issue facing New Zealand. The economy was the major issue, identified by 32 per cent of respondents as most important.

The survey showed New Zealanders make an effort to protect the environment through recycling, and some are reducing energy consumption or fuel use for environmental reasons. However, New Zealanders are less involved in other environmental protection activities than they were in 2000 or 1993 - with 37 per cent of respondents saying they had signed a petition about an environmental issue in the previous five years compared to 45 per cent in 2000. There were also fewer people prepared to pay higher prices or increased taxes to protect the environment.

“While New Zealanders’ concerns for the environment are clear, their behaviour and attitudes suggest that the environment is less important now than in 2000,” Professor Gendall says. He says the trend began in the 1990s but it was not clear if it reflected declining concern for the environment or a perception that Government-initiated measures, such as the Resource Management Act and the Emissions Trading Scheme, were providing the protection required.

The greatest environmental concern related to pollution of rivers, lakes and beaches, with a quarter of respondents saying this was the most important environmental problem overall. Climate change was ranked fourth in terms of environmental problems facing New Zealand.

The survey found most New Zealanders were in favour of legislation to protect the environment, even if it meant interfering with the rights of individuals and businesses to make their own decisions.

Generally New Zealanders are opposed to mining on conservation land, but this opposition is tempered somewhat if adverse effects can be mitigated. Most people have little understanding of the Emissions Trading Scheme but more are opposed to the scheme than are in favour of it.

Professor Gendall says that the task of safeguarding the environment cannot be left to the government or the legal system. “Ultimately, we are all responsible for the environment and we may have to accept some financial or other sacrifices to protect it.”