| dc.description.abstract | Despite the nuclear inclusion objective of the European Commission in 2018 of
nuclear energy in the power system and the historical reliance on nuclear energy, there seems
to be a significant contrast of willingness between the member states to produce this nuclear
energy. To understand why countries diverge in their choice for nuclear energy, one should
understand the different perspectives on risks, costs, and benefits of nuclear power, which
requires an analysis of public opinion in different countries. Unlike any other technology, the
viability of nuclear energy seems to be subject to the course of the public opinion. This thesis
study examines the public opinion of three European countries; The Netherlands, The United
Kingdom, and Denmark from 1970 to 2018, to find out what explains the differences in
public opinion on nuclear energy over time and cross countries. One finding holds that the
higher the impact of adverse nuclear events on society, the more news articles related to
nuclear energy are published. Interestingly, such events show a significant positive
relationship with the number news articles on nuclear energy in Denmark and The
Netherlands, but not in The United Kingdom. This suggests that avers events affect public
opinion most in countries with low adoption of nuclear energy. This can explain why the
Danish and Dutch governments remain an opponent of nuclear energy because of their higher
public sensitivity for perceived risks of nuclear energy, contrary to the the United Kingdom. | |
