Public attitudes, understanding and engagement to low carbon energy

A recent publication from RCUK on public attitudes and engagement around low carbon energy technologies, has a particularly interesting explanation of why it is important to do public engagement.

The authors say:

"There are a wide range of reasons for engaging the public in energy research, upstream in the RD&D chain. These may include dispelling ignorance and misunderstanding; raising scientific literacy, increasing trust in scientists, mobilising favourable attitudes to scientific and technological innovation, changing behaviour, and using public perceptions as a resource of inspiration, oversight and legitimacy that may temper and moderate scientific and technological innovations with uncertain and potentially risky outcomes. There is also a normative (value-based) rationale for public engagement: the public arguably have a right to influence decisions about public-funded research and technologies of policies that may affect them."

You can read more by clicking here.

This article was published on 6th June 2011.