“Government must ensure lessons are learnt from risk communication experiences in nuclear energy when developing new energy infrastructure,” the group warned.
After a probe into public views of risk in energy, the Science and Technology Select Committee concluded that the government needed to heed experiences in Germany where “energy policies appear to have been significantly driven by public opposition to nuclear power, including distorted views of risk”.
The committee said risk could not be clarified simply by providing facts. “For decades this approach has failed,” it warned. The report called for more consistency from government when communicating risk to the public.
This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 13 July 2012.
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