* Government’s energy policy is ‘incoherent and irresponsible’
* There is very little public support for fracking
Building a new dirty fracking industry in the UK will accelerate dangerous climate change, says the Green Party, the only main political party opposed to fracking and genuinely committed to investing in the clean energy technologies we need.
Chemicals giant Ineos announced plans this morning (1) to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in extracting UK shale gas. The company, which runs a huge refinery and petrochemicals plant at Grangemouth, on the Firth of Forth, recently acquired 729 sq miles of fracking exploration licences in central Scotland.
Responding to Ineos’ announcement, Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:
“It won’t have escaped the public that the Ineos investment announced for shale gas exploration is roughly the same size as the UK’s entire contribution to the Green Climate Fund, also publicised today.
“The Green Climate Fund was set up to help developing countries cope with the devastating impacts of climate change that many are already facing. The Energy Secretary is right to emphasise the need to help poorer countries develop using clean renewable technologies.
“But it’s incoherent and irresponsible for the Government, at the same time, to be doing everything it can to build a new dirty fracking industry here in the UK.
“Ministers know that the vast majority of existing fossil fuels must stay in the ground, if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
“The Government’s pro-fracking policies, such as weakening the planning system and offering huge tax breaks to companies who want to drill for shale gas, completely undermine the Government’s claim to be playing its part in tackling climate change.
“This comes as new analysis suggests that solar power could be cheaper than gas in as little as four years’ time, yet Ministers are slashing support for large scale solar, despite the fact solar is the most popular energy technology. Instead of courting dirty fracking companies, the UK should be doing everything it can to attract billions of pounds of investment into growing a home-grown, secure, renewable energy sector.
Natalie Bennett, Green Party Leader, said,
“From Balcombe in leafy Sussex, to Barton Moss on the edge of Manchester airport, the resistance to the government's enthusiasm to fracking has been strong and determined. The reason? Britons understand that fracking is something they do not want in their back yard, in their region, or in their country.
“As knowledge of fracking has spread, opposition has grown, and the government has become increasingly frantic to find ways to turn the tide. Prime Minster David Cameron has been flinging ‘bribes’ around like confetti - cash for local councils that allow fracking, offers of £100,000 cash for local communities plus 1% of revenues.
“The Coalition and the oil and gas industry’s efforts to play up the economic benefits of fracking are wearing thin. Fossil fuels are six times as expensive for taxpayers as renewables and one Cambridge University study suggests that if fracking got going, it would need to pay £6bn a year to mitigate the climate change impacts.”
NOTES:
1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30125028