Risk perception of nuclear energy after Fukushima: stability and change in public opinion in Switzerland

Abstract

The accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011 greatly affected attitudes toward nuclear energy in many countries, including Switzerland. In this study, we analyzed the evolution of public opinion about nuclear energy in Switzerland from 2012 to 2014 to determine how different dimensions of attitudes toward nuclear energy changed in the years following the accident and which factors influenced general opinion about nuclear energy. The primary findings show that public opinion about nuclear energy became only slightly more positive as time passed and that the most important predictor of the general opinion about nuclear energy was the individual assessment of its benefits and risk.