Finns divided over more nuclear power plants - poll
Date: 01-May-02
Country: FINLAND
Some 44 percent of 1,500 Finns surveyed were in favour of building a new plant while the same percentage opposed the plans, the poll by agency Taloustutkimus for Social Democratic paper Uutispaiva Demari showed.
Supporters say more nuclear energy is needed to meet growing electricity consumption and enable a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Opponents say the risks involved are too high and the question of nuclear waste disposal is still unanswered.
The government passed to parliament in January a proposal by energy group Teollisuuden Voima to build a new nuclear reactor in Finland. The move comes at a time when the rest of Western Europe is shifting to alternative forms of energy.
Keenest in favour of building more nuclear power plants, according to the poll, were supporters of the Conservatives and the Social Democrats, the two main groups in the country's five-party coalition.
Opposition was strongest among supporters of the Left Alliance and the Green Party, junior members of the coalition.
One in 10 of those surveyed were undecided. The margin of error for the poll, conducted in March, was three percent.
The party positions were roughly in line with a previous poll of members of parliament published earlier in the month.