(The) social acceptance of renewable energy technologies : a cross country comparative analysis of public perceptions and policy responses

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The transition toward renewable energy systems is widely recognized as a fundamental pathway for mitigating climate change and achieving sustainable development; however, technological advancement and economic feasibility alone are insufficient to ensure successful implementation. Social acceptance has emerged as a critical determinant of renewable energy deployment, particularly where public trust, environmental awareness, institutional quality, and socio-economic conditions vary across national contexts. This thesis examines the social acceptance of renewable energy technologies through a comparative analysis of South Korea and Pakistan, with Germany used as a reference case for high levels of renewable energy acceptance. Grounded in Social Capital Theory, the study investigates how institutional trust, climate awareness, education, income, demographic characteristics, and policy frameworks shape public attitudes toward renewable energy transitions. A mixed-methods research design was adopted, combining quantitative analysis of World Values Survey Wave 7 data with qualitative analysis of national energy policies, climate strategies, and institutional reports. The analytical sample comprised 1,245 respondents from South Korea and 1,467 respondents from Pakistan, enabling systematic comparison across contrasting socio-economic and governance contexts. The findings indicate that public support for environmental prioritization, used as a proxy for socio-political acceptance of renewable energy, is higher in South Korea than in Pakistan, while Germany demonstrates the strongest benchmark level of acceptance. Multivariate regression results reveal that climate change awareness is the most powerful predictor of renewable energy acceptance in both countries, followed by institutional trust and educational attainment. In Pakistan, income remains a significant determinant, suggesting that economic constraints directly influence public willingness to support environmental priorities. By contrast, in South Korea, acceptance is more strongly associated with environmental awareness, education, and confidence in institutional governance. Qualitative findings further demonstrate that transparent policy design, public participation, effective communication, and equitable incentive structures are central to strengthening acceptance. The thesis concludes that renewable energy transitions are not merely technical or infrastructural processes, but deeply socio-political transformations. Effective policy must therefore integrate climate education, institutional transparency, participatory governance, and socially equitable benefit-sharing mechanisms to build public trust and accelerate inclusive renewable energy adoption.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Table of contents
• I. INTRODUCTION 1
• 1. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1
• 2. RESEARCH GAP 4
• 3. PROBLEM STATEMENT 6
• 4. AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 7
• 5. OBJECTIVES 7
• 6. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 8
• 7. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 9
• 8. SCOPE OF THE STUDY 10
• 9. RESEARCH DESIGN 10
• 10. DATA SOURCES 12
• 11. VARIABLES AND OPERATIONALIZATION 13
• 12. DATA ANALYSIS METHODS 14
• 13. METHODOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS 15
• 14. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 16
• 15. CHAPTER SUMMARY 17
• 16. STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS 17
• II. LITERATURE REVIEW 19
• 1. INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE REVIEW 19
• 2. CONCEPT OF SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY 20
• 3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: SOCIAL CAPITAL THEORY 21
• 4. THEORETICAL ARGUMENT: SOCIAL CAPITAL AND THE SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY 29
• 5. SOCIAL NORMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY 33
• 6. LINKING SOCIAL CAPITAL THEORY TO THE VARIABLES OF THE STUDY 39
• 7. SUMMARY OF THEORETICAL ARGUMENT 40
• III. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS 42
• 1. INTRODUCTION 42
• 2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS AND SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS 43
• 3. BIVARIATE ANALYSIS 49
• 4. MULTIVARIATE REGRESSION ANALYSIS 51
• 5. QUALITATIVE FINDINGS: POLICY DOCUMENT ANALYSIS 60
• 6. SYNTHESIS AND INTEGRATION OF FINDINGS 65
• 7. CHAPTER SUMMARY 67
• IV. CONCLUSION AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 69
• 1. INTRODUCTION 69
• 2. SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS 70
• 3. THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTIONS 74
• 4. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 76
• 5. POLICY IMPLICATIONS 81
• 6. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 89
• 7. DIRECTIONS OF FUTURE RESEARCH 90
• 8. CONCLUDING REMARKS 92
• REFERENCES 94
• 국문초록 102