This book studies the extent to which nuclear safety issues have contributed towards the stagnation of nuclear power development around the world, and accounts for differences in safety regulations in different countries. In order to understand why nuclear development has not met widespread expectations, this book focusses on six key countries with active nuclear power programmes: the USA, China, France, South Korea, the UK, and Russia. The authors integrate cultural theory and theory of regulation, and examine the links between pressures of cultural bias on regulatory outcomes and political pressures which have led to increased safety requirements and subsequent economic costs. They discover that although nuclear safety is an important upward driver of costs in the nuclear power industry, this is influenced by the inherent need to control potentially dangerous reactions rather than stricter nuclear safety standards. The findings reveal that differences in the strictness of nuclear safety regulations between different countries can be understood by understanding differences in cultural contexts and the changes in this over time. This book will be of great interest to students, scholars, and policymakers working on energy policy and regulation, environmental politics and policy, and environment and sustainability more generally.

The aim of the book is to analyse the factors that have influenced wind power outcomes in a range of countries which have featured significant wind power deployment programmes. A central theme is the relationship between patterns of ownership and the outcomes. These flow from different social environments, but they are associated with different types of planning outcome and deployment rates. Grass roots ownership is more widespread than is commonly thought, although it is not a panacea for effective wind power programmes. Financial policies used to promote wind power also have important influences of the rates of deployment. However, what seems to be most important for wind power deployment is a double coincidence of widespread social support for wind power deployment and effective financial support systems for wind power.