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MPs report on shale gas – FoE Scotland Reaction

Reacting to a new report published today by the Energy and Climate Change Committee on the impact of shale gas on energy markets, Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland Dr Richard Dixon said:

“This report does little to back the case for a UK shale gas revolution.

“MPs say clearly that shale gas production may threaten our climate targets, may not stop the price of gas from soaring further and we can’t rely on it to improve energy security. They also acknowledge that we know very little about the true scale of climate impacts from unconventional gas.

“Fracking is dirty, unnecessary and a threat to our climate and environment. We are calling on the Government to ban all unconventional gas extraction and instead focus on our plentiful, safe and clean renewable energy resources.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. For more on unconventional gas see our briefing: http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/unconventionalgasApril2013

2. Australian company Dart Energy is the leading unconventional gas developer in Scotland. Dart’s key development for coal bed methane at Airth, near Falkirk, faces strong community opposition and has been beset by delays. The industry in Australia estimates that up to 40% of coalbed methane wells will eventually be fracked. See Australian National Greenhouse Accounts, Coal Seam Gas Estimation and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas

Emissions 2012, http://www.climatechange.gov.au/climate-change/emissions/~/media/climate…

3. Dart Energy has pulled out of its Australian ventures following a ban on all unconventional gas activity – not just hydraulic fracturing – within 2km of residential areas introduced by the New South Wales Government. http://www.resources.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/458018/TOUGH… A conservative estimate suggests at least 2,000 homes within 2km of Dart Energy’s Airth development. If a similar ban were in place in Scotland Dart’s development at Airth could not go ahead.

4. Friends of the Earth Scotland is

* Scotland’s leading environmental campaigning organisation

* An independent Scottish charity with a network of thousands of supporters and active local groups across Scotland

* Part of the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, uniting over 2 million supporters, 77 national member groups, and some 5,000 local activist groups – covering every continent. www.foe-scotland.org.uk