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Almost half of Chileans have a positive view on the implementation of renewables and 93% are familiar with climate change and would modify their routines, according to a study carried out by the Chilean energy company.
The deployment of renewable energies in Chile, mainly wind and solar, is well perceived by society: 47% believe that our country is progressing in relation to other countries and only 3% see a decline. That is one of the main conclusions drawn by the Criteria-Colbún Energy Transition Barometer, a study carried out by the Chilean energy company that monitored citizen perceptions of climate change and progress towards renewable energies.
The study was carried out based on online panels applied to a sample of 1,538 cases, with field work carried out between September 13 and October 2.
Regarding the sources of energy generation, the most used source in the opinion of those surveyed is hydroelectric, followed by a long distance by oil or diesel. Solar energy was the one that projected the most attributes. It was mentioned as the most important for the development of the country; and the most used in the future (in contrast to coal, oil or diesel and natural gas). Furthermore, photovoltaic energy is seen as the least harmful in terms of impact (lower accident rate, less impact on communities and landscape and the cleanest), followed by wind energy and both sources were also seen as the cheapest. Finally, and, contrary to its natural intermittency (day and night), the solar source is also seen as the most stable and secure in its supply, followed by hydroelectric energy.
Regarding the challenges that arise in the face of this data, José Ignacio Escobar, CEO of Colbún, adds that “dialogue is needed, an important package of measures, distribution reform, and also financial instruments to the extent that people can access these technologies at low cost, with soft credits, this can happen. Nowadays, accessing electric vehicle technologies, sustainable heating, and industries that must be converted are important investments. And instruments are also required to accelerate the storage of solar wind energy, which is being lost in the north.”
Climate change is a widely known concept and the majority of Chileans would be willing to introduce important changes in their way of life to combat it, however, it is not among peoples priorities when faced with other problems.
93% declare having seen, read or heard about climate change and among those who declare this, 76% indicate having medium or high knowledge about it. In fact, according to the survey, for 62%, climate change already has noticeable effects on their lives.
Despite this, only 5% see climate change as the most important issue to face at the country level, much behind other issues such as crime, health, unemployment, pensions and education. Regarding Chiles role in the face of climate change, there is division as to whether it has contributed to climate change and there is full awareness of the countrys vulnerability to this phenomenon (47%). Regarding its effects, the greatest impact of this phenomenon in the country would be extreme climate changes (54%) and then drought (28%).
By analyzing peoples attitude towards climate change, the study made it possible to classify these visions into four psychological profiles, according to their responses to 14 phrases that express different attitudes towards climate change. |
