The Government’s new Industrial Strategy, published today, contains a renewed commitment to ​investing in ​the shale gas industry [1]. ​This would have a devastating impact on the environment, public health and local communities.

Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP, has strongly criticised the plans. She says:

​​“It’s encouraging to see the Government commit to developing a regenerative circular economy. However, its strategy for reaching this goal is littered with contradictions.

As I warned in my response to the Government’s consultation on this new strategy​, 80% of fossil fuels must stay in the ground if we hope to avoid a climate change catastrophe [2]. This means we can no longer meaningfully describe our oil and gas reserves as a resource. The Government must face facts – bold action is needed to reduce the UK’s reliance on the oil and gas sector, regardless of its economic clout.

Turning to yet another dirty fossil fuel – shale gas – is not a solution. In this time of political crisis, setting up a Shale Environmental Regulator, is a waste of precious time and money. Fracking poses grave risks to the planet and to our health. It’s deeply unpopular, and it has profound impacts on local communities. Alongside my colleagues in the Green Party, I pledge to oppose it at every step.

The UK needs a genuinely ambitious strategy for transitioning towards cheaper, greener energy alternatives – including a cohesive plan to reskill workers, and create green jobs that are genuinely fit for the future. This isn’t it.”

Notes:

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/662508/industrial-strategy-white-paper.pdf

[2] http://www.jeanlambertmep.org.uk/2017/04/13/response-to-governments-industrial-strategy-green-paper/

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Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP, responded to this news in a letter to London’s Evening Standard:

There is no place for fracking in our city [“Energy firm wants to drill for gas under NW10”, July 10]. London is already in the midst of a public health emergency and this proposal to drill for shale gas in Brent would be catastrophic for the local area, which exceeds the EU’s legal clean air limits.

The potential consequences of fracking — including noise pollution and risks to drinking water — make it unsuitable anywhere in the UK. But, the impact could be much greater in a populated city such as London.

While the Government may be completely ambivalent, we will not sit back while prospectors dig up our land. Alongside my colleagues, I will oppose any attempt to extract shale gas from under Londoners’ feet.

Notes:

[1] https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/fracking-could-begin-in-london-after-multimillion-natural-gas-find-a3584726.html

Read the letter in the Evening Standard here.

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London’s Green MEP has pledged to oppose any attempt to bring fracking in London, following reports that an energy company is applying to begin exploring opportunities in Willesden. [1]

​​Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP, says:

​​“There is no place for fracking in our city. London is already in the midst of a public health emergency, whereby 9,000 people die prematurely each year as a result of breathing our toxic air. This proposal to begin drilling for shale gas in Brent would be catastrophic for the local area, which already exceeds the EU’s legal clean air limits.

Brent’s poor air quality is largely caused by road transport, construction and local energy generation. [2] Introducing fracking would simply amplify each of these issues, adding to the problem instead of helping to resolve it.

The potential consequences of fracking – including, noise pollution and risks to drinking water supplies – make it unsuitable for use anywhere in the UK. However, the detrimental impact could be much greater in a diverse and highly-populated city such as London, one of the world’s most water-stressed cities.

While the UK Government may be completely ambivalent to the dangers posed by fracking, Greens will not sit back while prospectors dig up our land. Alongside my colleagues, I will oppose any attempt to extract shale gas from under Londoners’ feet.”

​ENDS

Notes:

[1] http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/fracking-could-begin-in-london-after-multimillion-natural-gas-find-a3584726.html​

[2] http://democracy.brent.gov.uk/documents/s47267/Air%20Quality%20Action%20Plan%202017-2022%20-%20Full%20Report.pdf

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London’s Green MEP Jean Lambert has visited a potential site for fracking in Croydon with MP and anti-fracking activist Caroline Lucas.

Dr Lucas is a leading voice in the campaign against fracking who was arrested during a peaceful protest at the exploratory drilling site in Balcombe (and later cleared of all charges).

Croydon is one of the London boroughs which has already been granted an exploration license for fracking.

Ms Lambert said: “Many people aren’t aware that fracking is a threat not just to our countryside, but to our capital too. It’s absurd to even consider drilling for shale gas in our overcrowded city.

“With London’s pollution at dangerous levels, instead of taking action to clean up our air, the UK Government and London Mayor just stick their heads in the soil – looking for more pollutants to dig up.

“Fracking is not a quick-fix solution to our energy needs – it’s a distraction from the clean green solutions we need. It keeps us dependent on fossil-fuels, accelerates climate change, and threatens the local environment with risks to drinking water supplies, air and noise pollution.

“Rather than of listening to the oil and gas lobby, governments must listen to the climate scientists and halt this damaging dash for shale gas.

“Greens in Europe are calling for fracking to be stopped across the continent, and until this happens we are working to close the gaps in EU fracking regulation to better protect our air, soil and landscapes. We need more Greens in Europe to make sure energy policy moves in the right direction.

“We also need more Greens across the capital to keep London a frack-free zone: only Greens will put public health before corporate wealth.”

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The updated legislation on environmental impact assessments (EIAs) fails to make them compulsory for shale gas extraction projects and exploration involving fracking.

Greens voted against the revised rules which could see more fracking projects being bulldozed through without a basic standard of assessment of their impact and public participation in the process, as required by EIAs.

Lambert, the Green MEP for London said: “These new rules are a missed opportunity. They do not go far enough to protect the public from the risks of fracking, and will not halt the speedy dash for shale gas by many governments across Europe.

“Greens believe there is enough evidence to ban fracking in Europe, as they have done in France or Bulgaria, but making an environmental impact assessment compulsory should be the absolute minimum standard expected.

“The objections to fracking cannot be simply ignored. There’s the risk of toxic chemicals contaminating our water supplies, the air pollution, the effect on our environment of thousands of wells, the huge quantities of water consumed, and the climate change impact of our continued reliance on dirty gas.

“It beggars belief that there is a threat of fracking sites popping up across London, with the government already granting licenses for exploration in Croydon and Lambeth. Mayor Boris Johnson said he would leave ‘no stone unturned, or unfracked’ if reserves of shale gas are found in our most densely populated city. The Mayor should instead be throwing his weight behind energy efficient housing and renewables which would benefit communities, not big businesses.

“We need to halt fracking and properly assess the risks instead of offering bribes to councils to press ahead.

“Fracking is not a quick-fix solution to meet our energy needs. The best solution is for shale gas to stay in the ground, and for forward thinking governments to invest in clean green energy.”

NOTES

More on the legislation here: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&reference=A7-2013-0277&language=EN

Boris Johnson’s comments: http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2013/07/fracking-london-it%E2%80%99s-not-as-mad-as-it-sounds

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Sir

I was disappointed to read that students from Walthamstow School for Girls backed ‘fracking’ during a recent Royal Institution debate (‘Students vote in favour of fracking’, Waltham Forest Guardian, November 21st)

We are told it is a technology that will benefit local communities – and play a key role in promoting UK energy security, and therefore lower energy bills, in future.

But the reality is that it will benefit the energy companies involved – not local people anywhere.

It is unsafe, environmentally-damaging, water-intensive – and will make it harder than ever for the UK to meet its commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Instead we need community-level renewable energy generation that’d be more efficient, cheaper, cleaner, better for the environment – and create more jobs.

Perhaps the students would have taken a different view had they been from Croydon, where proposals to ‘frack’ in the area have already been advanced – and are attracting significant community opposition.

Yours

Jean Lambert MEP (Green Party, London)

It was published here – and responded to a news story which can be found here.

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She told reporters today that it was unsafe, environmentally-damaging, contributed to climate change – and was bad for communities.

“Residents of Croydon and Orpington are being told that fracking will benefit the local economy and will play a key role in promoting UK energy security – and therefore lower energy bills – in future,” she said.

“But really fracking is in the interests of big business, not communities.

“Instead we need community-level renewable energy generation that’d be more efficient, cheaper, cleaner, better for the environment – and create more jobs.

“There should be a complete ban on fracking, in London and across the EU, and that is exactly what Greens are pushing for.”

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The Greens strongly welcomed provisions to make EIAs compulsory for non-conventional fossil fuel projects, notably shale gas extraction and exploration involving fracking.

Commenting on the vote, London’s Green MEP Jean Lambert said:
“MEPs have today voted to ensure that all shale gas extraction projects and shale gas exploration involving the controversial fracking process – including those proposed in Croydon and Orpington – are subject to compulsory environmental impact assessments.

“While this would not prevent permits from being granted, it would ensure a basic standard of assessment and public participation. This will help prevent risky shale gas projects being bulldozed through in spite of environmental concerns and public will.

“While the Greens believe there is already sufficient evidence to ban this risky technology, particularly in sensitive areas, there is a need to ensure that environmental and liability rules are applied and vigorously enforced at the very least. Today’s vote is a first step in this direction.”

She added: “The UK Tories have made clear that ‘over-riding economic concerns’ will trump public opinion and environmental protection when major planning decisions are made. I am delighted that MEPs have firmly rejected that view and will pursue that position in the forthcoming negotiations with national governments.”

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The Green MEP said the Government’s claim to be the greenest ever was ‘little more than hot air’.

“Cameron has been very good at talking the talk – agreeing, for example, that the UK should reduce its carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 – but awful at walking the walk and establishing both the policies and follow-up measures to ensure emissions actually fall,” said Ms Lambert.

“Put simply, the latest report published today by the IPCC (1), implies that that we must drastically cut emissions now – not in 2050.

“We need to stop burning fossil fuels – and simply leave them in the ground. Instead we must move towards a zero-carbon economy: of course it’s feasible – if Germany can plan and act on this, we can.

“Banning fracking and massively increasing spending on renewable energy production and energy efficiency would be a good start: it’s just a question of political will.”

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The recommendations – which are not legally binding – call for caution, tougher regulation and the strict application of existing EU rules relating to the use of toxic chemicals and water pollution in light of serious health and environmental concerns.

But she said they didn’t go far enough, and called for the EU to adopt the precautionary principle and ban fracking altogether until its impacts on human health and the environment are fully understood.

Speaking after the vote, she said:

“The European Parliament has highlighted the growing public concern with the use of shale gas and the damaging methods used in its extraction.

“This report calls for caution while the health and environmental impacts are fully assessed and, crucially, for EU liability rules to be revised so that the companies involved in fracking are fully liable for all costs incurred and are obliged to provide financial guarantees to cover all the potential risks – even those that are yet emerge.”

She added: “Those companies exploring fracking to help meet Londoners’ energy needs would be better pursuing renewable technologies – and those designed to make London’s housing stock more energy efficient.”

The European Commission has previously raised doubts over the compatibility of fracking with EU legislation on water quality. Doubts have also emerged over whether all of the substances involved in the process meet EU rules on chemicals.

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