IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v134y2019ics0301421519305026.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of environmental values and political ideology on public support for renewable energy policy in Ottawa, Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Fobissie, Elsie N.

Abstract

The Ontario provincial government faces the challenge of getting public support in the implementation of its renewable energy (RE) policy. This paper therefore aims at investigating the effects of environmental values and political ideology on public support for renewable energy policy in Ottawa, Canada. Data was collected through open-ended interviews with 50 respondents in and around Ottawa, transcribed, coded and analysed using the NVivo software. Results indicate that environmental values and political ideology affect public support for renewable energy policy, but economic factors also play a role. There were 2 groups of people who felt neglected – those left out of the decision-making process and those who felt that they were excluded from the profits of RE projects in their areas of residence. Moving forward, the provincial government can think of ways to reduce the cost of electricity, invest on education and create awareness on the benefits of renewable energy and the different initiatives offered by the RE policy to increase public support. Public ownership of RE projects and more democratic policy-making could also increase public support.

Suggested Citation

  • Fobissie, Elsie N., 2019. "The role of environmental values and political ideology on public support for renewable energy policy in Ottawa, Canada," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:134:y:2019:i:c:s0301421519305026
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.110918
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421519305026
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.110918?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wustenhagen, Rolf & Wolsink, Maarten & Burer, Mary Jean, 2007. "Social acceptance of renewable energy innovation: An introduction to the concept," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 2683-2691, May.
    2. Wan, Calvin & Shen, Geoffrey Qiping & Choi, Stella, 2017. "A review on political factors influencing public support for urban environmental policy," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 70-80.
    3. Sauter, Raphael & Watson, Jim, 2007. "Strategies for the deployment of micro-generation: Implications for social acceptance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 2770-2779, May.
    4. Gawel, Erik & Strunz, Sebastian & Lehmann, Paul, 2014. "A public choice view on the climate and energy policy mix in the EU — How do the emissions trading scheme and support for renewable energies interact?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 175-182.
    5. Niklas Harring & Sverker C. Jagers & Simon Matti, 2017. "Public Support for Pro-Environmental Policy Measures: Examining the Impact of Personal Values and Ideology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-14, April.
    6. Stokes, Leah C., 2013. "The politics of renewable energy policies: The case of feed-in tariffs in Ontario, Canada," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 490-500.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhongwei Zhu & Tingyu Qian & Lei Liu, 2023. "Evolutionary Simulation of Carbon-Neutral Behavior of Urban Citizens in a “Follow–Drive” Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-28, July.
    2. Hayashida, Sherilyn & La Croix, Sumner & Coffman, Makena, 2021. "Understanding changes in electric vehicle policies in the U.S. states, 2010–2018," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 211-223.
    3. Pawel Robert Smolinski & Joseph Januszewicz & Barbara Pawlowska & Jacek Winiarski, 2023. "Nuclear Energy Acceptance in Poland: From Societal Attitudes to Effective Policy Strategies -- Network Modeling Approach," Papers 2309.14869, arXiv.org.
    4. Anna Manuella Melo Nunes & Luiz Moreira Coelho Junior & Raphael Abrahão & Edvaldo Pereira Santos Júnior & Flávio José Simioni & Paulo Rotella Junior & Luiz Célio Souza Rocha, 2023. "Public Policies for Renewable Energy: A Review of the Perspectives for a Circular Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-28, January.
    5. Erika Allen Wolters & Brent S. Steel & Rebecca L. Warner, 2020. "Ideology and Value Determinants of Public Support for Energy Policies in the U.S.: A Focus on Western States," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-19, April.
    6. Amina El Mekaoui & Rasikh Tariq & Othón Baños Ramírez & P.E. Méndez-Monroy, 2020. "Sustainability, Sociocultural Challenges, and New Power of Capitalism for Renewable Energy Megaprojects in an Indigenous Mayan Community of Mexico," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-23, September.
    7. Talan, Amogh & Rao, Amar & Sharma, Gagan Deep & Apostu, Simona-Andreea & Abbas, Shujaat, 2023. "Transition towards clean energy consumption in G7: Can financial sector, ICT and democracy help?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    8. Piotr Żuk & Paweł Żuk, 2021. "On the Socio-Cultural Determinants of Polish Entrepreneurs’ Attitudes towards the Development of Renewable Energy: Business, Climate Skepticism Ideology and Climate Change," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-16, June.
    9. Wang, Kai-Hua & Su, Chi-Wei & Lobonţ, Oana-Ramona & Moldovan, Nicoleta-Claudia, 2020. "Chinese renewable energy industries’ boom and recession: Evidence from bubble detection procedure," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Frank, Alejandro Germán & Gerstlberger, Wolfgang & Paslauski, Carolline Amaral & Lerman, Laura Visintainer & Ayala, Néstor Fabián, 2018. "The contribution of innovation policy criteria to the development of local renewable energy systems," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 353-365.
    2. Heagle, A.L.B. & Naterer, G.F. & Pope, K., 2011. "Small wind turbine energy policies for residential and small business usage in Ontario, Canada," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 1988-1999, April.
    3. Yuan, Xueliang & Zuo, Jian & Ma, Chunyuan, 2011. "Social acceptance of solar energy technologies in China--End users' perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1031-1036, March.
    4. Liu, Wenling & Wang, Can & Mol, Arthur P.J., 2013. "Rural public acceptance of renewable energy deployment: The case of Shandong in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1187-1196.
    5. Yazdanpanah, Masoud & Komendantova, Nadejda & Ardestani, Roshanak Shafiei, 2015. "Governance of energy transition in Iran: Investigating public acceptance and willingness to use renewable energy sources through socio-psychological model," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 565-573.
    6. Gordon, Joel A. & Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye & Nabavi, Seyed Ali, 2022. "Beyond the triangle of renewable energy acceptance: The five dimensions of domestic hydrogen acceptance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    7. von Wirth, Timo & Gislason, Linda & Seidl, Roman, 2018. "Distributed energy systems on a neighborhood scale: Reviewing drivers of and barriers to social acceptance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 2618-2628.
    8. John Colton & Kenneth Corscadden & Stewart Fast & Monica Gattinger & Joel Gehman & Martha Hall Findlay & Dylan Morgan & Judith Sayers & Jennifer Winter & Adonis Yatchew, 2016. "Energy Projects, Social Licence, Public Acceptance and Regulatory Systems in Canada: A White Paper," SPP Research Papers, The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, vol. 9(20), May.
    9. Zaunbrecher, Barbara S. & Linzenich, Anika & Ziefle, Martina, 2017. "A mast is a mast is a mast…? Comparison of preferences for location-scenarios of electricity pylons and wind power plants using conjoint analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 429-439.
    10. Boon, Frank Pieter & Dieperink, Carel, 2014. "Local civil society based renewable energy organisations in the Netherlands: Exploring the factors that stimulate their emergence and development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 297-307.
    11. Sardianou, E. & Genoudi, P., 2013. "Which factors affect the willingness of consumers to adopt renewable energies?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1-4.
    12. Wang, Tan & Gong, Yu & Jiang, Chuanwen, 2014. "A review on promoting share of renewable energy by green-trading mechanisms in power system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 923-929.
    13. Azadian, Farshad & Radzi, M.A.M., 2013. "A general approach toward building integrated photovoltaic systems and its implementation barriers: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 527-538.
    14. Emma Ejelöv & Andreas Nilsson, 2020. "Individual Factors Influencing Acceptability for Environmental Policies: A Review and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-14, March.
    15. Mundaca, Luis & Busch, Henner & Schwer, Sophie, 2018. "‘Successful’ low-carbon energy transitions at the community level? An energy justice perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 292-303.
    16. Laurent Ott & Mehdi Farsi & Sylvain Weber, 2021. "Beyond political divides: analyzing public opinion on carbon taxation in Switzerland," Chapters, in: Axel Franzen & Sebastian Mader (ed.), Research Handbook on Environmental Sociology, chapter 17, pages 313-339, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Walker, Chad & Stephenson, Laura & Baxter, Jamie, 2018. "“His main platform is ‘stop the turbines’ ”: Political discourse, partisanship and local responses to wind energy in Canada," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 670-681.
    18. Thiam, Djiby Racine, 2011. "An energy pricing scheme for the diffusion of decentralized renewable technology investment in developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 4284-4297, July.
    19. Antoine Boche & Clément Foucher & Luiz Fernando Lavado Villa, 2022. "Understanding Microgrid Sustainability: A Systemic and Comprehensive Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-29, April.
    20. Timothy Fraser & Daniel P. Aldrich, 2020. "The Fukushima effect at home: The changing role of domestic actors in Japanese energy policy," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(5), September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:134:y:2019:i:c:s0301421519305026. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.