The role of the public in the implementation of national energy policy objectives

Despite the consolidation of the need for the development of green energy and the abandonment of fossil energy sources in the energy policies of most developed and developing countries, the global pace of the introduction of renewable energy sources into energy infrastructure remains relatively low. The programmes being developed for economic support of renewable energy facilities, encouraging the purchase of ‘green’ electricity by enterprises, the introduction of green certificates, increasing the fiscal burden on traditional energy facilities – all these measures, despite their potential effectiveness, do not accelerate the process of replacing traditional energy sources with renewable ones. One of the possible reasons for limiting the pace of development of the new energy industry may be the lack of public support, caused primarily by a lack of knowledge and awareness in the field of renewable energy. Public acceptance of various state initiatives and awareness of strategic development national programmes, especially by the younger generation, is an important component of their successful implementation, including in the energy sector. This paper provides the analysis of the awareness level of the younger generation about the adopted national energy policy and their attitudes towards it. The study analysed the results of a survey conducted among students from universities in Romania, Italy and Greece. Modern students have demonstrated a relatively low level of awareness of the issues of energy policy being implemented and an ambiguous level of government support, which may be one of the central reasons for the insufficiently high rates of green energy development.