Exploring support for shale gas extraction in the United Kingdom

The development of shale gas in the United Kingdom (UK) using hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as ‘fracking’, remains in its infancy. Yet understanding public attitudes for this fledgling industry is important for future policy considerations, decision-making and for industry stakeholders....

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Main Authors: Andersson-Hudson, Jessica, Knight, Wil, Humphrey, Mathew, O'Hara, Sarah
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37227/
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author Andersson-Hudson, Jessica
Knight, Wil
Humphrey, Mathew
O'Hara, Sarah
author_facet Andersson-Hudson, Jessica
Knight, Wil
Humphrey, Mathew
O'Hara, Sarah
author_sort Andersson-Hudson, Jessica
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description The development of shale gas in the United Kingdom (UK) using hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as ‘fracking’, remains in its infancy. Yet understanding public attitudes for this fledgling industry is important for future policy considerations, decision-making and for industry stakeholders. This study uses data collected from the University of Nottingham UK nationwide online survey (n=3,823) conducted in September 2014, to consider ten hypothesises about the UK public’s attitudes towards shale gas. From the survey data we can see that 43.11% of respondents support shale gas extraction in the UK. Furthermore, our results show that women, class DE respondents, non-Conservative party supporters, and respondents who positively associate shale gas with water contamination or earthquakes are less likely to support the extraction of shale gas in the UK. We also discuss potential policy implications for the UK government arising from these findings.
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spelling nottingham-372272020-05-04T18:10:09Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37227/ Exploring support for shale gas extraction in the United Kingdom Andersson-Hudson, Jessica Knight, Wil Humphrey, Mathew O'Hara, Sarah The development of shale gas in the United Kingdom (UK) using hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as ‘fracking’, remains in its infancy. Yet understanding public attitudes for this fledgling industry is important for future policy considerations, decision-making and for industry stakeholders. This study uses data collected from the University of Nottingham UK nationwide online survey (n=3,823) conducted in September 2014, to consider ten hypothesises about the UK public’s attitudes towards shale gas. From the survey data we can see that 43.11% of respondents support shale gas extraction in the UK. Furthermore, our results show that women, class DE respondents, non-Conservative party supporters, and respondents who positively associate shale gas with water contamination or earthquakes are less likely to support the extraction of shale gas in the UK. We also discuss potential policy implications for the UK government arising from these findings. Elsevier 2016-09-21 Article PeerReviewed Andersson-Hudson, Jessica, Knight, Wil, Humphrey, Mathew and O'Hara, Sarah (2016) Exploring support for shale gas extraction in the United Kingdom. Energy Policy, 98 . pp. 582-589. ISSN 0301-4215 Hydraulic fracturing; United Kingdon; Attitudes; Support http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421516305092 doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2016.09.042 doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2016.09.042
spellingShingle Hydraulic fracturing; United Kingdon; Attitudes; Support
Andersson-Hudson, Jessica
Knight, Wil
Humphrey, Mathew
O'Hara, Sarah
Exploring support for shale gas extraction in the United Kingdom
title Exploring support for shale gas extraction in the United Kingdom
title_full Exploring support for shale gas extraction in the United Kingdom
title_fullStr Exploring support for shale gas extraction in the United Kingdom
title_full_unstemmed Exploring support for shale gas extraction in the United Kingdom
title_short Exploring support for shale gas extraction in the United Kingdom
title_sort exploring support for shale gas extraction in the united kingdom
topic Hydraulic fracturing; United Kingdon; Attitudes; Support
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37227/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37227/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/37227/