Climatic Change (2011) 107:549–565 DOI 10.1007/s10584-010-9964-9 Exploring the orientations which characterise the likely public acceptance of low emission energy technologies Simone Carr-Cornish · Peta Ashworth · John Gardner · Stephen J. Fraser Received: 22 June 2009 / Accepted: 5 October 2010 / Published online: 16 December 2010 © Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) 2010 Abstract There is a large body of research and development into the low emission energy technologies that has the potential to assist developed and developing countries transition to more sustainable energy systems. It has long been recognised that public perceptions can have a fundamental effect on the market for technology and this issue raises questions about the role society will play in developing a low emissions energy future. Understanding how the public will respond to the range of low emission energy technologies as part of a climate change mitigation package is therefore critical for researchers, policy makers and industry stakeholders. In the current research, we investigated the Australian public’s likely acceptance of a range of low emission energy technologies by assessing the diverse ‘orientations’ that have emerged in response to low emission energy technologies. In a survey of two Australian states we measured the support for, and knowledge of, a range of low emission energy technologies. Using self-organising maps, a relatively new approach for segmenting response profiles, we identified that at least four distinct ‘orientations’ have emerged toward the issue and are characterising the likely acceptance of these technologies: ‘Disengaged’, ‘Nuclear Oriented’, ‘Renewables Oriented’, and ‘Engaged’. The implications of these multiple public viewpoints are described for climate change mitigation policy and for future research into the social acceptance of alternative energy technologies. 1 Introduction Climate change has been described as a ‘diabolical’ problem (Garnaut 2008): a complex, large-scale threat, predominantly caused by reliance on fossil fuel energy forms (Intergovermental Panel for Climate Change 2007), that can only be addressed S. Carr-Cornish (B ) · P. Ashworth · J. Gardner · S. J. Fraser Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), PO Box 883, Kenmore, 4069, Australia e-mail: Simone.Carr-Cornish@csiro.au