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    Business Green: UK shale gas - Better in theory than in practice

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Summary

The UK shale gas debate on whether or not the UK, and by extension Europe, should embrace fracking and join the global rush to exploit its shale gas resources, has dominated the environmental and energy community,

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Business Green: UK shale gas - Better in theory than in practice

For the past few months one debate has dominated the UK's environmental and energy community, although to refer to it as a "debate" implies a level of dignity and rational thinking that has been sorely lacking - "almighty row" is probably a more apt description. The argument in question centres, of course, on whether or not the UK, and by extension Europe, should embrace fracking and join the global rush to exploit its shale gas resources.
 

For various reasons this relatively narrow energy policy debate has morphed into a much wider argument about climate policy in general, the future nature of the UK's energy mix, and the state of play in various swing seats in the run-up to the 2015 election. On one side, the sensible pro-fracking argument that shale gas can cut emissions in the medium term by replacing coal and providing a transition fuel towards a genuine low carbon energy mix has been hijacked by climate deniers and anti-green media commentators who care more about attacking environmentalists than developing credible long-term energy policy. On the other side, many green campaigners have sought to make shale gas a totemic issue and have vowed to do everything in their power to block UK developments, while conveniently ignoring the fact that, like it or not, the UK is going to source gas from somewhere for several decades to come.  MORE

 

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