Effects of trust and public participation on acceptability of renewable energy projects in the Netherlands and China

Abstract

In order to mitigate climate change and its impacts, it is crucial to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. The extent to which renewable energy projects can be implemented largely depends on public acceptability. We studied how public acceptability is influenced by people’s trust in agents responsible for renewable energy projects and the influence that people have over decisions regarding these projects. As expected, higher trust and having influence over major decisions regarding the project led to higher project acceptability. Public acceptability was lowest when people had low trust in responsible agents and when people could only influence minor decisions regarding the project. We found a similar pattern of results in our samples in the Netherlands and China, providing initial evidence that trust in responsible agents and public influence over decisions may have similar effects on public acceptability of renewable energy projects across different countries and cultures.