In the UK there are strong policy imperatives to transition toward low-carbon energy systems. The Carbon Plan (DECC, 2011) represents the current key policy document that sets out the UK Government’s proposals for energy system change necessary to meet the carbon budgets enshrined in the Climate Change Act (2008); within this document public attitudes and acceptability are identified as key uncertainties with regard to the development of future energy systems. In particular, it is highlighted that there is little agreement over how to transform the energy system in order to meet climate change targets.
In this paper, public acceptability is identified as an indeterminate form of uncertainty that presents particular challenges for policy making. We build on our existing research into public values for energy system change to explore how the outcomes of the project can be applied in thinking through the uncertainties associated with public perspectives. This work was undertaken as part of the UK Energy Strategies Under Uncertainty project.