Not under my backyard? Psychological distance, local acceptance, and shale gas development in China

Shale gas development can negatively impact those residing in close proximity to projects. Evidence from protests in Europe and the United States suggests a growing prevalence of “NUMBYism” (Not Under My Backyard) sentiment. There is little public discourse about the public acceptance, particularly among those directly affected, of shale gas development in China. Moreover, little research has been done examining whether locally affected publics support or oppose shale gas development, putting policymakers at a disadvantage in terms of risk communication and effective energy governance. Through in-depth interviews with local residents (n = 25) in Weiyuan county that has the largest shale gas reserves in China, the present study extends prior literature on the “NUMBY” phenomenon by exploring local residents’ attitudes toward shale gas development, both locally and distantly. Here we find approximately 20% of our interviewees express views that are consistent with NUMBYism – oppose local development but support or are indifferent to development elsewhere. The rest express views that are fully supportive (52%) or opposed (8%) regardless of local or distant development, or indifferent to local development but either supportive or indifferent to development elsewhere (20%). We find interrelated factors such as national identity – not observed in previous studies – playing an important role in how residents view development. Moreover, drawing upon construal level theory, we also examine the role that different dimensions of psychological distance (e.g., social, temporal, uncertainty, and experiential) may play in explaining these views. These findings may inform policy design and risk communication about shale gas development in China.