TY - JOUR

T1 - UK public perceptions of shale gas hydraulic fracturing

T2 - The role of audience, message and contextual factors on risk perceptions and policy support

AU - Whitmarsh, Lorraine

AU - Nash, Nick

AU - Upham, Paul

AU - Lloyd, Alyson

AU - Verdon, James P.

AU - Kendall, J. Michael

N1 - Funding Information: This research was funded under the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Partnership Grant, Still or Sparkling: Microseismic Monitoring of CO 2 injection at In Salah, NE/I010904 . We thank our survey respondents for their time in participating in this research. Publisher Copyright: © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.

PY - 2015/12/15

Y1 - 2015/12/15

N2 - There is growing recognition of the need to understand public attitudes to energy sources, such as shale gas, and to feed these into decision-making. This study represents the first detailed UK experimental survey of public perceptions of shale gas fracking, including analysis of the effects of different messages and the relative influence of different audience, message and contextual factors on support and risk perceptions in respect of shale gas fracking. Using an online survey (N = 1457) of the UK public, we find considerable ambivalence about shale gas, but also greater awareness of potential risks than benefits. Prior knowledge is associated with more favourable attitudes, although demographics, political affiliation and environmental values are strongest influences on perceptions. When provided with environmental or economic information about shale gas, participants became more positive - irrespective of their prior values or whether information is framed in terms of losses or gains. As expected, prior attitudes predict how information is received, with more attitude change amongst the most ambivalent respondents. We conclude that additional information about shale gas is more likely to be effective changing attitudes if focussed on this 'undecided' group. Studies of this type are important for policy makers and industry alike.

AB - There is growing recognition of the need to understand public attitudes to energy sources, such as shale gas, and to feed these into decision-making. This study represents the first detailed UK experimental survey of public perceptions of shale gas fracking, including analysis of the effects of different messages and the relative influence of different audience, message and contextual factors on support and risk perceptions in respect of shale gas fracking. Using an online survey (N = 1457) of the UK public, we find considerable ambivalence about shale gas, but also greater awareness of potential risks than benefits. Prior knowledge is associated with more favourable attitudes, although demographics, political affiliation and environmental values are strongest influences on perceptions. When provided with environmental or economic information about shale gas, participants became more positive - irrespective of their prior values or whether information is framed in terms of losses or gains. As expected, prior attitudes predict how information is received, with more attitude change amongst the most ambivalent respondents. We conclude that additional information about shale gas is more likely to be effective changing attitudes if focussed on this 'undecided' group. Studies of this type are important for policy makers and industry alike.

KW - Attitudes

KW - Communication

KW - Hydraulic fracturing

KW - Public

KW - Risk perceptions

KW - Shale gas

KW - Risk perceptions

KW - Sustainability sciences, Communication

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84943251131&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.09.004

DO - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.09.004

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:84943251131

VL - 160

SP - 419

EP - 430

JO - Applied Energy

JF - Applied Energy

SN - 0306-2619

ER -