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April 08-09, 2019 | Zurich, Switzerland
2nd International Conference on
Green Energy & Technology
Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation | Volume 3 ISSN: 2529-8046
Notes:
The socio-political dimension of the energy transition: Under which do citizens
support renewable energy policies at the ballot box?
Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen
University of Bern Institute for Political Science, Switzerland
The nuclear phasing out and promoted energy
turnaround (Energiewende) could constitute
a major driver for renewable energy projects.
Increasing the share of renewable energy is
seen as indispensable to solve the energy supply
dilemma. This new orientation faces various
challenges not only on a technical, but also on a
political level. I emphasize that a governmental
decision as such does not automatically induce
energy transition, but renewable energy projects
and innovative policy instruments enhancing
them have to be accepted and realized at the
national, regional and local level.
Whereas political actors and the population
generally tend to have a positive view on
renewable energy, opposition towards specific
policies and projects is a recurrent issue in
many countries. In participatory contexts like
Switzerland, where citizens often need to
support renewable energy polices in a direct-
democratic vote, social acceptance by citizens is
a crucial condition for the energy transition. But
also in other countries, large-scale changes like
the transition from fossil/nuclear to renewable
energy will probably not be successful without at
least some support by the population. Hence, in
my presentation, I concentrate on the question:
Under which conditions do citizens support
renewable energy policy at the ballot box?
I will present findings from several large-scale
population surveys conducted in Switzerland
between 2016 and 2017, in particular also in the
context of the national vote on the Government’s
Energy Strategy 2050. Based on conjoint analysis,
I will show that the cost factor is the main single
factor that determines votingon renewableenergy
policies – and this also is true for green-left voters.
On the other hand, it proves to be quite difficult to
find aspects that citizens perceive as benefit, i.e.,
compensating the costs. Whereas nuclear phasing
out, subsidies for large-scale hydropower and a
broad political coalition supporting the policy can
be identified as triggers of support, the crucial
potential benefit of renewable energy policies is
not acknowledged by voters: A substantial part of
citizens do not understand or do not believe in the
efficacy of renewable energy policies.
Speaker Biography
Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen is Professor of Comparative Politics at
the Department of Political Science, University of Bern. Her research
interests lie in the areas of public policy (especially welfare state
policy and energy policy), direct democracy and political behavior and
attitude research. In her current research projects, she is also working
on the interfaces between these priorities. For example, it examines
how policies such as family policy and energy policy influence citizens'
political preferences.
e:
Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen, Environ Risk Assess Remediat, Volume 3
DOI: 10.4066/2529-8046-C1-002