Danish perspectives on transboundary environmental risks: An example from Copenhagen

Abstract

This article examines the perceptions of a randomly selected number of Copenhagen inhabitants towards different forms of transboundary environmental risks: the Barsebäck nuclear power plant in Sweden and more general East Europe's environmental problems. The study, based on a random telephone sample of 100 inhabitants and interviews with policy makers, arrives at the following conclusions: the respondents were more concerned about local environmental problems than transboundary ones while policy makers were not so worried about local problems; a large majority of the respondents were willing to give environmental aid to Eastern Europe for both self interest and altruistic reasons; and finally, when they were probed, both the respondents and the policy makers associated the risks posed by the Barsebäck plant with a possible nuclear accident rather than a radioactive leakage.