A majority of the Dutch back the switch to more sustainable forms of energy, but support shrinks if the process is expensive and the government does not pick up the bill, according to research by the environmental assessment agency PBL.

A survey of 2,000 people found that 88% would like the Netherlands to be less reliant on other countries for its energy and 76% consider climate change to be a major problem. But while a large majority back a move away from gas, there are major divisions when it comes to funding and future supply.

In addition, more than half of respondents have little faith in the government as a whole on climate issues, pointing to the inconsistencies surrounding solar energy payments, for example.

“It is about the way in which the shift is made,” PBL researcher Astrid Martens told the Financieele Dagblad. “People are sceptical about it being done well.”

District heating, the most common alternative to gas-fired central heating, is struggling at the moment and energy firms have put their plans on ice because of potential disputes about ownership.

The previous government suggested partial nationalisation as a solution for creating commercial monopolies which have been driving up costs for households with no alternative heating source.

The PBL research found that support for a gas-free future increases if the government pays for the switch.

“People think the affordability is the biggest sticking point,” the researchers say. “They are unhappy if they are held individually responsible for most of the cost and are worried costs will not be divided up fairly.”

The climate agreement reached in 2018 states that the Netherlands seven million homes and one million other buildings should all be heated using renewable sources by 2050.