Policy Briefing on Unconventional Gas and Fracking

An updated policy briefing outlining the key environmental impacts of unconventional gas extraction, how the industry is developing in Scotland and problems with the current regulatory framework, and calling for a ban. 

The industry likes to talk about unconventional gas as the answer to our energy needs: plentiful, cheap and clean. However there are inherent environmental and health risks associated with onshore coalbed methane and shale gas extraction, and it is not going to be the game changer in Europe as it has been in the USA. The recoverable resource is small, extraction is expensive and climate emissions are high. Far from being plentiful, cheap and clean, the reality is that unconventional gas in Scotland can only ever be scarce, expensive and dirty.