Europeans Support Cutting Down on Financing of Nuclear Energy Sector - Survey Results

KYIV, Ukraine, April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Europeans supported cutting down investments into nuclear energy, according to the results of a survey conducted by Benenson Strategy Group together with First International Resourcesin late Feb. through the first half of March, 2011. The relevance of the survey on prospect of nuclear energy is increasing due to the recent developments at Japan's Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant and forthcoming 25th anniversary of Chornobyl disaster.

The survey has revealed that even before the earthquake in Japan, the majority of European respondents of the survey conducted in sevencountries (France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, Great Britain, and Ukraine) would not favor further investments into nuclear power sector. Thus, only 12 percent of German respondents supported the increase of investments into nuclear sector, whereas 70 percent opposed it. On the other hand, the majority of Ukrainian respondents (Ukraine was a site of Chornobyl accident in 1986. - Ed.)supported the increase of investments into nuclear energy - 35 to 18 percent of respondents.

At the same time, about half of respondents agreed, that investing into nuclear energy sector would promote their economies. On the other hand, the question about how investments into nuclear energy will influence the accessibility to electric energy almost equally divided the respondents' opinion. The survey also demonstrated the most recognized advantages of the nuclear energy - it is anenvironmentally friendly and cheap energy source.

In Ukraine the survey has been conducted in the form of individual interviews among 1021 adult respondents (over 18 years old). In Europe the survey was conducted among 500 respondents from each country who shared their opinion in "face-to-face" and telephone interviews. The survey represents plus or minus 4 percent margin error at a 95 percent confidence level. Almost all of the respondents were questioned before the accident in Japan.

To honor the 25th anniversary since Chornobyl disasterthe Ukrainian government plans to hold an international conference on April 20-22. Earlier Ukraine stated that it hopes to attract new donors to invest into construction of the new containment structure over Chornobyl's 4th reactor. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, EBRD President Thomas Mirow, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso have confirmed their intention to participate in the conference.

http://wnu-ukraine.com/news/?id=231

SOURCE Worldwide News Ukraine