Support for renewable energy in China: a survey experiment with internet users

Chen, D. and Cheng, Chao-Yo and Urpelainen, J. (2016) Support for renewable energy in China: a survey experiment with internet users. Journal of Cleaner Production 112 , pp. 3750-3758. ISSN 0959-6526.

Abstract

Mitigating climate change requires reductions of carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases. Because China is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, global efforts to stop climate change depend on China's policies. While renewable energy can replace coal in power generation to reduce carbon pollution, the perceptions of renewable energy among the Chinese public have not been studied. People's perceptions are important because, although China is not a democracy, existing studies have shown that the government's legitimacy depends on popular support. This article reports results from an online survey experiment among 2086 Chinese internet users. This methodology allows the exploration of the responsiveness of Chinese respondents to various frames of the benefits and costs of renewable energy. The levels of support for renewable energy among the respondents were high. There was a positive and statistically significant response to an energy security framing, while neither the air pollution nor the climate change frames had a statistically significant effect on the levels of public support. Economic concerns are also salient to the respondents, as a counter-frame emphasizing the cost of renewables undermined the effectiveness of the energy security frame. Similar to studies from other countries, the cost and security of energy generation are priorities for the respondents. If these findings apply more broadly to the Chinese public, the government can create public support for renewables by emphasizing energy security in communication.

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