Social Acceptance of Nuclear Energy Among Y and Z-Generation Hungarian Residents

Governments all over the world are trying to find the balance between the constantly increasing electricity demand of their countries’ economy, while mitigating the negative effects of energy generation on the atmosphere (especially CO2 emission). Nuclear energy generation seems like a solid solution for both problems; however, the technology itself is considered as a two-edged sword by many people because of the negative effects of a possible accident. To understand people’s attitude, scholars and researchers developed several behavioral and technology acceptance models such as TPB, TAM, and Risk-Benefit Concept, which they used successfully in many countries to investigate energy-related topics. This study aims to scrutinize the social acceptance of nuclear energy generation among Y and Z generation Hungarian residents to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that could support the acceptance and promotion of the technology. For this purpose, a unique theoretical framework has been developed (by mixing the above-mentioned behavioral and technology acceptance models) and tested via survey method, where the gathered data has confirmed the importance of the influencing factors of the model.