The European Parliament will deliver a confusing message to member states on the issue of shale gas drilling when it adopts two contradictory reports on the issue this autumn.

On Tuesday (18 September), the Parliament's industry committee adopted a report concluding that shale gas has great potential to diversify the European Union's energy supply and lower emissions. A study carried out for the European Commission has shown that the use of shale gas would generate 29%-41% less emissions than coal. The report concludes that each member state should be able to choose whether to exploit shale gas, and that no EU action in the area is necessary at this time.

But a second report by the Parliament's environment committee adopted on Wednesday (19 September) urges caution to be exercised while health and environmental impacts are assessed. It says present EU regulations such as the environmental liability directive and the water framework directive need to be reviewed, extraction needs to be closely monitored and the responsibility for any damages needs to be placed on the industry.  MORE