Public Perceptions of Earthquakes caused by Gas Production in the Netherlands: Effects of Exposure to Risks and People's Values

This paper is part of the symposium: Energy Transition Risks, Uncertainties and Societal Values. Gas is promoted in the Netherlands as key energy source that has economic benefits and as a relatively clean fossil fuel.... [ view full abstract ]

This paper is part of the symposium: Energy Transition Risks, Uncertainties and Societal Values.
Gas is promoted in the Netherlands as key energy source that has economic benefits and as a relatively clean fossil fuel. However, gas production causes earthquakes in the province of Groningen where gas is being produced. We studied how people in Groningen perceive the (risks of) earthquakes and how they evaluate gas production in general. Results revealed that people were highly concerned about the earthquakes in their region. People living in regions most exposed to earthquakes reported highest concern and highest risks for themselves, and stronger negative emotions. Next, importantly, we found that evaluations of gas production were related to people’s values. The stronger their biospheric and altruistic values, the more negatively people evaluated the (consequences of) earthquakes; and the stronger their biospheric values, the more people thought that gas production should stop. While the stronger their egoistic values, the more positively people evaluated gas production and its potential benefits, and the less they thought that gas production should stop. Interestingly, the relationships between values and these evaluations were independent of people’s exposure to earthquakes. We discuss the implications for better understanding the influence of contextual factors (e.g. risks of energy developments) and people’s values on evaluations of energy developments.