At last, a response from the Labour Party on fracking. Dear Ms Baines-Holmes, Thank you for your email regarding shale gas extraction, or ‘fracking’. We must ensure that Britain has an energy supply that is affordable, secure, and low-carbon. Gas will surely have a role in our future energy mix, alongside renewables and nuclear, and with the use of Carbon Capture and Storage. However, Labour has always said that fracking should only go ahead if it is shown to be safe and environmentally sound. The Government must take a responsible approach, with a robust regime of regulation and comprehensive monitoring that is strong enough to address the legitimate public concerns about fracking. There are important regulatory questions which must be answered before large-scale extraction can begin, but Tory ministers have ignored legitimate environmental concerns. Rather than a balanced and cautious approach to shale, the Tories have sought to frustrate regulation and overhype the potential benefits of fracking. However, experts including the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser have warned that fracking is unlikely to make a large impact on energy prices. The Government have overstated the speed with which widespread fracking will take place in the UK; in reality only a handful of exploratory wells are likely to be drilled this year and just one or two wells are likely to be fracked - if any. Only one well has been fracked in the UK to date, in Lancashire in 2011; the process was associated with earth tremors and led to an 18-month ban. We need a mature debate about fracking, in the context of our climate change commitments and to ensure that fracking takes place only in a robust regulatory environment. Although David Cameron promised to lead the ‘greenest Government ever’, investment in clean energy has more than halved under his Government. Labour will set a 2030 decarbonisation target for the energy sector to encourage clean energy investment, and shale gas must not come at the cost of our climate commitments. Any shale gas development must go hand in hand with Carbon Capture and Storage projects, which are the key to the long-term future of fossil fuels as part of our energy mix. Fracking must be shown to be safe. So Labour would ensure that shale gas extraction can only take place within a rigorous regulatory regime that addresses people’s legitimate environmental and safety concerns. We have set out strict conditions for regulation and monitoring which we believe must be met before exploratory drilling or fracking can commence: First, there must be mandatory disclosure of all the chemicals used at each fracking site, and the chemicals used must be proven to be non-hazardous. Second, the design and integrity of each shale gas well must be assured to prevent water contamination. Third, evidence of seismic activity led to the suspension of operations in Lancashire, so baseline micro-seismic conditions must be assessed prior to any exploratory work, and a seismic early warning system must be implemented before drilling. Fouth, the level of methane in groundwater – which can occur naturally – should be assessed prior to any drilling, so any changes can be monitored. Fifth, all potential shale exploration sites should be subject to screening for an environmental impact assessment. And finally, all this monitoring activity should take place over a year, to allow sufficient time to gather all the evidence required to make an informed decision on whether to proceed with exploration. You can read more about our ideas for energy and tackling climate change in our Living Standards and Sustainability Policy Consultation document. If you would like to share your ideas, please make a submission to the consultation. With kind regards, On behalf of the Labour Party
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 22:56:47 +0000
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