A decision aid in the public debate on nuclear power

A wide public debate on the future energy policy of Finland was going on at the time of this decision aiding project. The subject of the debate was the question whether a new nuclear power plant should be built or not. To clarify the differences between anti-nuclear and pro-nuclear opinions for the public, a decision analysis of the issue was carried out, the results of which was published in Finland’s largest daily newspaper. In this study the participants representing the opposite opinions were the Minister of Finance and an industrial chief executive. This paper describes the project and analyzes the two preference profiles. The sensitivity of the results and the question of rank reversal are also studied. The merits of the approach and the implications of the results for the debate are discussed.