Post Tags: fracking

European Commission Shale Gas Research Conference

Brussels — Today’s event, organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, fails to ask the question whether or not shale gas should be developed at all in Europe, according to Food & Water Europe. Instead, the Commission assumes future large-scale development of shale gas in the EU as its starting point, exploring how research and certain policies can facilitate its extraction.

Together with many anti-fracking groups across the EU, Food & Water Europe strongly rejects this point of departure and firmly believes that the emerging body of research about the negative climate, environmental and public health impacts of fracking makes an urgent case for a ban on fracking. In the ‘make or break’ year of the Paris climate summit, it is unacceptable that the link between climate change and unconventional fossil fuels like shale gas is not even mentioned on the conference programme.

“A conference about shale gas research that does not engage with the pressing question of whether or not such unconventional fossil fuels are compatible with science-based climate targets starts with a false premise,” said Food & Water Europe Director of EU Affairs Geert Decock, “An emerging body of research has started to document the negative climate, but also environmental and public health, impacts of fracking, which the Commission fails to properly engage with”.

Contact: Geert De Cock tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)484 629.

Energy Union Drops Idea of Communication on Promoting Domestic (Shale Gas) Energy Sources

Brussels — Food & Water Europe welcomes that the European Commission dropped the idea of a “Communication on promoting domestic resources — including progress on shale gas”, which was announced by Commissioner Arias Cañete two weeks ago during the Latvian presidency conference on the Energy Union in Riga.

The weak emphasis on shale gas and other unconventional fossil fuels in the Communication reflects a growing realisation inside the European Commission — following a series of disappointing experiences with fracking — that this potential fossil fuel resource is unlikely to address any of the EU’s energy challenges: import dependency, decarbonisation, technological leadership, green jobs, etc. The Energy Union Communication now called shale gas “an option, provided that issues of public acceptance and environmental impact are adequately addressed”.

“Finally, the Commission is turning away from echoing the hype about shale gas, promoted by Big Oil & Gas,” said Food & Water Europe Director of EU Affairs Geert Decock, “One year ago, its Communication on shale gas projected that 10 percent of EU energy demand in 2035 could come from shale gas. Now, shale gas is just ‘an option’, with a number of important caveats about environmental impacts and public acceptance”.

Contact: Geert De Cock tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)484 629.491, gdecock(at)fweurope.org

The Urgent Case for a Ban on Fracking

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WaterFoodCommon Resources

Learn more in the report.

DOWNLOAD PDF VIEW ON SCRIBD

“In many ways, fracking is the environmental issue of our time.

“It’s an issue that touches on every aspect of our lives — the water we drink, the air we breathe, the health of our communities — and it is also impacting the global climate on which we all depend.

“It pits the largest corporate interests — big oil and gas companies and the political leaders who support them — against people and the environment in a long-term struggle for survival.

“It is an issue that has captivated the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands of people across the United States, Europe and across the globe. And it is an area in which, despite the massive resources of the Frackopoly — the cabal of oil and gas interests promoting this practice — we as a movement are making tremendous strides as our collective power continues to grow. As this report lays out, there is mounting evidence that fracking is inherently unsafe.

“Evidence builds that fracking contaminates water, pollutes air, threatens public health, causes earthquakes, harms local economies and decreases property values.

“We first made the case for a ban on fracking in 2011, but this report shows that there is an urgent case for a ban. The evidence is in, and it is clear and overwhelming. Fracking is inherently unsafe, cannot be regulated and should be banned. Instead, we should transition aggressively to a renewable and efficient energy system.” — Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Europe

Movement to Ban Fracking Heats Up in the UK

Brussels – The vote yesterday in the House of Commons supporting a moratorium on fracking shows how attempts by the shale gas industry have failed to gain greater public acceptance, especially in areas where fracking is likely to take place, according to advocacy group Food & Water Europe.

“The UK government’s ‘dash for gas’ approach to fracking has backfired,” said Food & Water Europe Director of EU Affairs Geert Decock, “This vote and other recent events illustrate how the movement to ban fracking is growing across the European Union, including the UK. Even though the proposed moratorium in the UK failed to win over a majority of UK MPs at this point in time, affected communities will continue to speak up in favour of a ban on fracking and win over their representatives.”

Last week, officials of Lancashire County Council recommended refusing a planning application to shale gas company Cuadrilla due to concerns about noise and traffic. Also last week, the Environmental Audit Committee in the House of Commons called for a moratorium on fracking “because it cannot be accommodated within our climate change obligations.” Yesterday, Friends of the Earth UK revealed that Chancellor George Osborne made dozens of interventions to fast-track fracking as a “personal priority”, including the delivery of numerous “asks” from shale gas company Cuadrilla. To avoid a moratorium on fracking, the UK government had to accept a number of proposals, such as banning fracking in national parks.

“Events over the past week show that the public acceptance of a shale gas industry is nowhere, especially in areas of the UK licenced for shale gas exploration,” said Decock. “Yet, together with a handful companies, some in the UK government are trying to fast track fracking, disregarding local communities, scientific experts and its own backbenchers. We call on those officials to stand up with the affected local communities to protect their environment, not corporate interests.”

Contact: Geert De Cock tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)484 629.491, gdecock(at)fweurope.org

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-30913269
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmenvaud/856/85607.htm
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/26/george-osborne-ministers-fast-track-fracking
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6e1ac088-a584-11e4-ad35-00144feab7de.html?siteedition=intl#axzz3Q1Oi0Gtc

Commission’s pie-in-the-sky thinking for ‘abundant’ energy supplies is a bad starting point to reduce the EU’s import dependency.

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Food

Brussels – The Energy Security Communication, adopted this morning by the European Commission, fails to articulate an ambitious, long-term strategy to reduce the EU’s growing import dependency – in particular for natural gas – because the no-regret option of reducing energy demand is not at the core of this strategy. About 40% of the EU’s gas consumption is used to heat and cool buildings. Yet, the Communication offers no in-depth plan to reduce gas consumption in key sectors such as buildings, industry, transport and power by means of renewables and energy efficiency. Rather, the Commission’s main focus is switching from Russia to other suppliers of gas in the hope of finding “abundant supply of energy”. Food & Water Europe fails to see how recent discoveries of potential offshore oil and gas in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, pipeline gas from Azerbaijan, fracked gas from the US, LNG exports from Algeria, Libya, etc. will strengthen the reliability of gas supplies to EU consumers and business at an affordable price.

 “It is baffling that the European Commission prioritizes highly uncertain supplies of gas from autocratic regimes like Azerbaijan, LNG exports from the United States or large-scale fracking in the EU in a strategy that seeks to improve the reliability of gas supplies to the EU”, said Food & Water Europe Director Geert De Cock. “Rather than looking for non-existent ‘abundant’ energy supplies, the Commission should have recognized that energy is and will remain scarce for the foreseeable future and that demand reduction for natural gas is the only no-regret option for the EU”.

About 40% of the EU’s annual gas consumption is used for the heating and cooling of buildings. Investing in renovations of existing building stock and renewable heating & cooling solutions are no-regret options, contribute to climate ambitions, support EU industries and create jobs in the EU. Sadly, these options remain underexplored. By all but ignoring this fact, the European Commission has made it impossible to come up with meaningful and cost-effective answers on the EU’s growing import dependency in the long term.

Contact: Geert Decock tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)484 629.491, gdecock(at)fweurope.org 

Spate of New Research on Fracking Shows We (still) Know Very Little About its Impacts

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Water

Brussels – Recent research results on the impacts of fracking show that the large-scale exploitation of shale gas and other unconventional fossil fuels has been allowed to move ahead without properly monitoring its impacts. Researchers – regardless of their discipline –  who want to study the impacts of fracking on the climate, water and air quality or public health are confronted with the reality that no systematic data-gathering has occurred where fracking is allowed to proceed. Scientists whose work was published in journals like Marine and Petroleum Geology, Climatic Change, The Lancet and The Medical Journal of Australia all come to similar conclusions, namely that publicly available data are scarce to non-existent. This lack of data allows the fossil fuel industry to maintain their speaking point of ‘no data, no problem’ and ‘no reported cases of groundwater contamination due to fracking’. For countries where fracking is allowed to proceed – despite the growing body of evidence of the negative impacts -, Food & Water Europe has long insisted that authorities need to establish strategic monitoring programmes to allow for the early identification of negative impacts on air, water and public health.

“The lack of publicly available data about the impacts of fracking from the US and the complete absence of a strategic monitoring capability in EU Member States for the fracking industry exposes European citizens and their environment to a broad range of risks”. said Food & Water Europe policy officer Geert De Cock. “The precautionary principle should compel the EU and its Member States to impose an immediate moratorium on fracking and unconventional fossil fuels”.

In January 2014, the European Commission launched a non-binding recommendation “minimum principles for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons (such as shale gas) using high volume hydraulic fracturing”. These minimum principles also emphasize the importance baseline data, continuous monitoring and transparency. Unfortunately, the European Commission’s recommendation puts the responsibility for monitoring the impacts of fracking mainly with the operator and shies away from obliging Member States to organise their own, frequent and unaccounted visits of the – typically, very numerous – well pads for unconventional oil and gas drilling. The recommendation also fails to outline credible sanctions for operators that fail to comply with these recommendations. Last but not least, it remains unclear how the European Commission will enforce this non-binding recommendation on recalcitrant Member States.

Contact: Geert Decock tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)484 629.491, gdecock(at)fweurope.org