Renewable energry favoured by UK population
- 25th April 2012
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Almost nine in 10 people want to see the government substantially increase the UK’s use of clean domestic energy sources and reduce the country’s reliance on importehttps://www.emeraldknightconsultants.com/files/news/d gas, a new yougov poll reveals.
just under two-thirds of the 2,884 people in the survey, carried out on behalf of campaign group friends of the earth, listed wind, wave, solar or tidal as power sources they wanted to see playing a greater role in the uk’s electricity generation provision over the next decade, while just 2% backed an increase in gas power stations.
the survey is the latest to signal strong public support for renewable energy, following sunday’s yougov poll for scottish renewables that found 71% of scots supported wind power, and a separate ipsos mori survey last week that reported 67% of respondents were in favour of using more wind power.
currently, only 9.5% of uk electricity comes from renewable energy sources. friends of the earth is concerned the government is encouraging a new “dash for gas” by exempting gas-fired power plants from emissions restrictions that will effectively ban new coal power stations, as well as the recent report backing the extraction of fossil fuels through hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’.
The wind energy sector is also facing an increasingly vocal campaign against new wind farms, while concerns are mounting that renewable energy investments are being put on hold as a result of investor concerns over the degree of political backing for clean energy.
The government is committed to a legally-binding agreement to produce at least 20 per cent of our power needs from renewable energy sources by 2020, alongside the rest of the European Union.
