Following a bitterly harsh winter it appears that Brits are losing faith in the concept and potential consequences of global warming.
According to a survey commissioned by EDF Energy, the number of people concerned about where Britain’s electricity comes from has also declined while resistance to nuclear power stations also appears to be decreasing.
The YouGov poll took a sample of 4,300 adults and found that interest in climate change had fallen from around 80 per cent of respondents four years ago to 71 per cent last year and now a mere 62 per cent. Only 80 per cent of respondents expressed an interest in where electrical power is made compared to 82 per cent in 2009. The number of climate change agnostics meanwhile has risen from 25 per cent to 33 per cent.
Among the reasons touted for the change is the failure to reach an agreement on fresh emission targets at the Copenhagen climate change summit; and the recent batch of cold weather.
EDF Energy meanwhile is planning to build a new generation of nuclear power plants and has seen the favourability rating rise from +4 to +16 in the last three years. Chief executive of the company Vincent de Rivaz believes that urgent action is needed if the UK is to meet carbon emission targets and nuclear power is the lowest cost low-carbon solution that can be built in the UK without subsidy.
