Leaked Document Could Shatter UK Shale Dreams
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron’s hopes for a British-style shale gas revolution recently took a major hit.
Cameron has promised that his government will be “going all out” to develop Britain’s shale gas resources, which he argues will create new jobs and cut dependence on imported gas.
But a committee made up of members of parliament (MPs) from several political parties issued a damning new report on the state of “fracking” in the United Kingdom. The Environmental Audit Committee published a report that called for a 30-month moratorium on fracking, citing “huge uncertainties” regarding the environmental fallout from widespread drilling. On top of the usual controversies over water supplies, the report says that allowing fracking will upend British climate change goals.
“Ultimately fracking cannot be compatible with our long-term commitments to cut climate-changing emissions unless full-scale carbon capture and storage technology is rolled out rapidly, which currently looks unlikely,” MP and Committee Chair Joan Walley said. “There are also huge uncertainties around the impact that fracking could have on our water supplies, air quality and public health.”
Related: Emergency Tax May Not Be Enough To Save North Sea Oil
The committee report was a political bombshell in London, but the House of Commons overwhelmingly shot down an amendment – by a vote of 308 to 52 – on January 26 that would have banned fracking outright.
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