The Labour party has accused the Coalition government of ‘hyping’ shale gas in the UK at the expense of public concern.
As a result, the party has tabled amendments designed to tighten regulations for shale gas extraction in the UK. The party wants to introduce full disclosure of the frack fluid that will be used for each individual well; baseline monitoring of methane levels in the groundwater; mandatory environmental impact assessments for all fracking sites including making water companies statutory consultees.
Commenting on the need for regulatory change, Tom Greatrex, Labour’s shadow energy minister, said: “Shale gas extraction must only be permitted to happen in the UK with robust regulation and comprehensive monitoring. Too often, David Cameron’s government have ignored genuine and legitimate environmental concerns in pursuit of a rhetoric-led policy.
“More must be done to meet the public acceptability test on shale and other unconventional gas if it is to be an alternative to imported LNG from Qatar. People need to have confidence that the regulatory framework protects their health and the environment.
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“Labour is pushing the Government to close a number of loopholes in the current regulation and put existing good practice onto a statutory footing. We will force companies to publicly disclose what chemicals are used in shale gas extraction and to ensure that Environmental Impact Assessments are conducted at all sites. Anyone looking to extract shale gas in the UK will also be required to conduct baseline assessments over 12 months, setting an accurate standard by which we can identify any impact on the local environment.”
Recent government figures show that support for fracking is dropping with just 24% of Brits supporting the extraction of shale gas – down from 29% in March 2014. The figure is in stark contrast to polling data published by UK Onshore Oil and Gas which claimed that 57% of Brits supported fracking. The survey was widely criticised for leading questions and misleading question structure.
Greatrex believes that the government’s heavy handed approach to shale gas has done little to ease the public’s concern over extracting shale gas in the UK. He said: “With 8 out of 10 homes still reliant on gas for heating, and with declining North Sea gas reserves, shale may have a role to play in displacing imported gas. The type of relentless hype from many Tories not only overplays the likely impact of shale, but also leaves many feeling their concerns have not been properly addressed.”
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