IEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Public Concerns on Coal / Nuclear andRisk Communications
Surichai Wun'Gaeo
Director, Center for Peace and Conflict Studies,Chulalongkorn University
November 20 , 2015
Symposium on Sustainable Power Supply Mix in the Future
Energy Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University (CU – ERI)The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ)
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)IEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

What forces will shape the future ?
 Drivers and challenges
1) Globalization, Deglobalization, Globalizations andRegionalism
2) Policies, societal values, and Public (consumers) behavior
and attitudes
3) Power of Alienation, Distrust and Hatred or Power ofTrust and Understanding?
4) Learning and RE-BALANCING
5) Knowledge in the Age of Anthropocene : learning ourway out of unsustainability

IEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Outline Energy Security as Our Problem, Everyone’sproblem
 Why the public? Who are the Public?
 What is Risks Communication?
 Energy Decision-Making and Public Involvement
 What Next StepsIEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Seeking a Sustainable Energy Transition:
Generation Technology Choice Thailand has experienced growing public protest

against large-scale generation technologies
 Large hydropower dams (e.g. Pak Mun) Coal fired power stations (e.g. Mae Moh, andrecently a proposed plant in Krabi)
 Proposed nuclear power stations
 Power import projects (e.g. Xayaburi)
 Although still to be strengthened, provisions in the Law

and Constitution (1997; 2007) have: Established provisions for Environmental Impact

Assessments and Health Impact Assessments Increased the opportunity for public participation

IEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Seeking a Sustainable Energy Transition:
Strengthening Power Planning Processes•

A 2006 study showed that 12 of the past
13 estimates by EGAT wereoverestimates•••

Thai civilgroupsgroups
have calledhaveon EGATto reformon
energyThaicivilsocietysocietycalledplanning and prioritize renewable and decentralized energy projects,
EGAT
to efficiency
reform energy planning andand energy
prioritize renewable and decentralizedenergy projects, and energy efficiency

Large power projects remain
preferred, although there is now agrowing proportion of renewables
These large projects privilege theinterests of EGAT and large powercompanies

Power planning was reformed with theEnergy Act (2007) Formation of Energy Regulatory
Commission
 Some public participation in PDP
2010
X Much remains to be done to further
increase participation andinternalize social andenvironmental costs

IEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Who are the Public?
 “The public” means one or more natural or legalpersons”- a collection of numerous continually shifting
interests and alliances, which may be in conflict witheach other a catch-all to describe those with an interest in adecision, other than a proponent, operator, orresponsible authority. The individuals making up apublic may be involved as individuals or as membersof organisations. They may become involved due totheir proximity, economics, social or environmental
issues, values, etc.
 A person doesn’t have to be a citizen to be a memberof the public

Surichai Wun' GaeoIEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Public Concerns and Perceptions
What are the public’s concerns andperceptions?
2. What is the social response to the risk? Possibilitiesof political mobilization or potential conflict?
3. How are public concerns defined by
4. Are there differences in stakeholders adjectives andvalue, or from inequities in the distribution ofbenefits and risks?
1.

Surichai Wun' GaeoIEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

DAD and DEAD : loss of trust Studies indicate a serious gap in understanding andtrust between stakeholders Existing decision-making structures are often based oneither the traditional DAD (Decide, Announce andDefend) or DEAD (Decide, Educate, Announce andDefend) methods, and this can be seen as one sourceof this gap in trust.

Surichai Wun' GaeoIEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Surichai Wun' GaeoIEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

RISK Communication
one-way information not, two-way
2. Certain concerns are not taken serious, or treated as
irrational atienation
3. Low level of confidence or trust in the information
given, and in the decision-making process weakens
the whole process
1.

Surichai Wun' GaeoIEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Stakeholders :Key Questions for Involvement
 Inclusion- Who : stakeholders, scientists, public (s)- What : options, policies, scenarios,frames, preferences- Scope : multi-level governance ( verticaland horizontal )- Scale : space, time period, future generations

 Closure- What counts : acceptable evidence- What is more convincing : competition of arguments- What option is selected : decision making rule ( consensus,compromise, votiong )Surichai Wun' GaeoIEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Co-Evolution of Research andPolicy Making

Knowledge
Community

Co-evolution

Policy-Making
Communities

Communicationtrust?

COE: Knowledge / Communities / Methodologies

IEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

The wider context

Organizational Capacity
Organizational Capacity (1 )Assetts- Laws and regulations that estabish rights and obligations- Resources – financial and physical – to gather information and act- Knowledge – the experience and expertise to best use theresources- Integration – with which to access and deploy the other assents

 Skills- Flexibility – adapting to change in a dynamic situation- Vision – preparedness to think “ outside the box ”- Directivity – being an agent for external change when necessary
Surichai Wun' GaeoIEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Organizational Capacity (2 )

 Capabilities- Relations – links between the actors tocreate the basis for collaborative learningand decision making- Networks – enhanced links between keyactors- structures that create andoversee the overall process and how all theactors interact

Surichai Wun' GaeoIEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Choosing the Tools for the job
Level 1: Education and Information Provision
Level 2: Information Feedback
Level 3: Involvement and Consultation
Level 4: Extended Involvement

Surichai Wun' GaeoIEEJ：December 2015, All Rights Reserved.

Dialogue Planning
November

March20152016

Expected
participants
・EGAT・TEPCO・BLCP・JICA
・JBIC
・JETRO

Closedmeeting
NGOs
Civil Society
Expected
participants
・・・・・

ERI/IEEJ

SRI / ERI

Closedmeeting
Business

Consultation

Policy makers

Opendiscussion
Business +Civil Society＋
Policy makers

Business

Expected
participants

Stakeholders

And CivilSociety

Both sides ofBusiness andNGOs
ERI/SRI

Contact : report@tky.ieej.or.jp