Business Green: Davey makes case for exploiting 'low carbon' shale gas
Ed Davey has given his clearest indication to date that he believes the UK's nascent shale gas industry can play a key role in a low carbon energy mix, insisting that strong regulations should help ensure the sector delivers significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Writing exclusively for BusinessGreen, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary reiterated his calls for the creation of a diverse low carbon energy mix that can meet the government's three key objectives of energy affordability, energy security, and decarbonisation.
Davey distanced himself from those ministers who have argued shale gas could help bring down energy prices, noting that fracking "is not a silver bullet and much of the hype around shale gas is overdone". But he insisted that "natural gas - whether from offshore North Sea drilling or from onshore fracking rigs - could potentially meet two of our energy policy objectives: security and climate change".