Eco Energy Attitudes of the Finns 1998

The survey charted Finnish attitudes towards questions of energy policy, especially those concerning eco energy. First, respondents were asked whether they had paid attention to discussions about and advertisements for environmentally-friendly electricity and whether they found the subject interesting in general. Their opinions on the environmental friendliness and economic efficiency of electricity produced from, for example, coal, peat, natural gas and nuclear, water and wind power were studied. Electric power generation and its effects on the environment were observed from different angles. Respondents' views on the reliability of various information sources, for example, Finnish Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Trade and Industry, energy companies, power plants and television were examined. Respondents were also asked how concerned they were about different environmental problems, e.g. air pollution, ozone depletion, nuclear waste and traffic emissions. Opinions on the environmental performance labelling of electricity were queried on. Respondents were asked about the necessity of a uniform labelling system and about the targets, criteria, accrediting organisations and certificate types of eco-labels. Their views on the competitive tendering of electricity suppliers and buying eco-labelled electricity were investigated. Finally, respondents were presented with a set of attitudinal statements pertaining to environmentally labelled electricity and electricity production. Background variables included respondent's gender, age group, mother tongue, accommodation type, heating arrangements, population size of municipality of residence, province, vocational education and occupational status.