School of Applied Economics, Renmin University of China, Zhongguancun Street, Beijing, 100872, China.
School of Business Administration, Northeastern University, Chuangxin Road, Shenyang, 110819, China.
J Environ Manage. 2024 May;359:120937. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120937. Epub 2024 Apr 26.
The Chinese government promotes nuclear energy development in the context of mitigating climate change. However, the large-scale development is still facing challenges related to the knowledge gap among the general public and the potential "not-in-my-back-yard" objection. Based on a representative national survey, we analyze Chinese people's knowledge and perceptions of nuclear energy and estimate their willingness-to-accept the potential risks of new nuclear programs in neighborhoods via the Contingent Valuation Method. Generally, more than half of people do not know anything about nuclear energy. The main factors influencing public knowledge are identified, such as the residential distance to existing nuclear power stations and the frequency of internet use. Moreover, approximately 12% of individuals with some knowledge seem to be willing to accept new nuclear power plants in their neighborhoods with no compensation needed. Specifically, the perceptions of nuclear risks and pollution from fossil fuels are significant factors influencing people's acceptance of nuclear energy. Although public knowledge does not directly influence acceptance, more knowledge seems to reduce risk perception and increase benefit perception. The residential distance to exiting nuclear stations has limited effects on people's acceptance of newly planned nuclear programs for those living in the same county with some knowledge. In general, a typical Chinese household is willing to accept USD $5.66 every month or USD $67.97 every year to bear the potential risks of the new nuclear program in neighborhoods. Significant practical implications that can be transferable to other new energy technologies and countries or regions are provided.
中国政府在应对气候变化的背景下推动核能发展。然而，大规模发展仍然面临着公众知识差距和潜在的“不要在我家后院”反对的挑战。基于一项具有代表性的全国性调查，我们分析了中国人对核能的了解和看法，并通过条件价值评估法估计了他们对潜在风险的接受程度。总体而言，超过一半的人对核能一无所知。确定了影响公众知识的主要因素，例如居住到现有核电站的距离和上网频率。此外，约有 12%的有一定知识的人似乎愿意接受新的核电站在他们的社区，而不需要补偿。具体而言，对核风险和化石燃料污染的看法是影响人们接受核能的重要因素。尽管公众知识不会直接影响接受程度，但更多的知识似乎会降低风险感知并增加收益感知。对于居住在同一县的那些有一定知识的人来说，居住到现有核电站的距离对他们接受新规划的核项目的影响有限。总的来说，一个典型的中国家庭愿意每月支付 5.66 美元或每年支付 67.97 美元来承担新的核计划在社区中的潜在风险。为其他新能源技术和国家或地区提供了具有重要实际意义的可转移经验。
