Most Poles favour acceleration of nuclear power development

Most Poles support plans to build nuclear power stations in Poland, according to a new opinion poll.

Released on Tuesday, the poll by ARC Rynek i Opinia (ARC Market and Opinion) showed that 64 percent were in favour of nuclear power. Of these, 37 percent voiced strong support for speeding up the building plans while 27 percent were quite in favour.

Men were much more supportive of nuclear power plans (75 percent) in contrast to only 53 percent of women.

People with higher education were also more supportive (70 percent).

Of the 13 percent who opposed nuclear power, 9 percent said they would quite like to withdraw from plans, and 4 percent said they would definitely shelve them. Twenty-three percent of respondents had no opinion on the matter.

A previous poll conducted in 2006 showed opposition to nuclear power stood at 56 percent and research from last year put opposition at 20 percent.

A spokesperson for ARC said among the factors underpinning lower opposition to nuclear power were the war in Ukraine, perceptions of energy blackmail and high energy prices.

The online survey was conducted between July 28 and August 3 on a sample of 1,037 people between the ages of 18 and 65.