Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
shale''.
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But despite this gung-ho enthusiasm, there remain major doubts as
to whether it is the right direction for UK energy policy.
Friends of the Earth strongly believes that unconventional gas and oil
(such as shale gas) are not the answer to the UK's energy problems because:
It risks keeping the UK locked in to the use of gas at a time when we
need to reduce fossil fuel use significantly in order to play our part in
tackling climate change;
Evidence from the United States, where fracking has grown rapidly in
the last decade, and elsewhere shows that the process of fracking in-
volves risks to the local environment and to human health; and
Despite Government claims to the contrary, most experts think UK shale
gas is unlikely to cut energy bills.
In our opinion, shale gas - and other unconventional gas and oil - is both
unconventional and unburnable. This chapter explores these issues and
looks at the real solutions to the UK's energy problems.
1.1 The Government's View
The UK Government sees shale gas as a vital part of the UK's energy future.
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Owen
Paterson, has described the UK's shale gas potential as ''an extraordinary ...
windfall, which is entirely God-given''.
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The Government is determined, in the words of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, George Osborne, in his 2013 Budget speech, to ''make it hap-
pen''. To this end, Mr Osborne is introducing tax breaks for shale gas pro-
duction as part of a fiscal regime which he wants to make the most generous
in the world. His Cabinet colleague Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for
Communities & Local Government, has relaxed planning guidelines to boost
the shale gas industry. For example, drilling companies no longer have to
inform householders directly if drilling and fracking might take place below
their property. The UK Government has actively manoeuvred against further
regulation at the EU level because this would delay the development of the
industry in the UK. This is despite the fact that the Impact Assessment
produced by the European Commission showed that a Directive setting
specific requirements for the exploration and production of unconventional
oil and gas would be much more effective in reducing environmental im-
pacts and risks, providing legal clarity and addressing public concerns, than
the preferred option (and that supported by the UK) of a non-binding
recommendation.
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2 Environmental Concerns
There are sharply conflicting views on the scale of the risks and the likeli-
hood of them occurring.
