Conclusions and recommendations
1. Any
large scale extraction of shale gas in the UK is likely to be
at least 10-15 years away. It is also unlikely to be able to compete
against the extensive renewable energy sector we should have by
2025-30 unless developed at a significant scale. By that time,
it is likely that unabated coal-fired power generation will have
been phased out to meet EU emissions directives, so fracking will
not substitute for (more carbon-intensive) coal. Continually tightening
carbon budgets under the Climate Change Act will have significantly
curtailed our scope for fossil fuel energy, and as a consequence
only a very small fraction of the possible shale gas deposits
will be burnable. (Paragraph 26)
2. A moratorium on
the extraction of unconventional gas through fracking is needed
to avoid the UK's carbon budgets being breached in the 2020s and
beyond, and the international credibility of the UK in tackling
climate change being critically weakened—already a prospect
if the provisions in the Infrastructure Bill aimed at maximising
North Sea oil extraction are passed. (Paragraph 27)
3. The Infrastructure
Bill should be amended to explicitly bar fracking of shale gas.
This could be done through an Amendment to Clause 37, to qualify
the provision in the Bill which seeks to introduce a strategy
to maximise the economic extraction of 'petroleum' (which includes
natural gas) reserves, so that the "principal objective [of
the strategy] is not the objective of maximising the economic
recovery of UK petroleum but ensuring that fossil fuel emissions
are limited to the carbon budgets advised by the Committee on
Climate Change and introducing a moratorium on the extraction
of unconventional gas through fracking in order to reduce the
risk of carbon budgets being breached." (Paragraph 28)
4. It remains to be
seen whether [the existing regulatory regime] will ensure effective
regulatory co-ordination across all the relevant bodies and departments.
A joint strategy concerning the regulation of unconventional oil
and gas signed by all relevant national and local departments
and agencies must be developed and published. (Paragraph 64)
5. The Government
must ensure adequate numbers of skilled and experienced staff
are in place to regulate unconventional oil and gas now and in
the future.
(Paragraph 65)
6. Work to determine
the baseline status of the environment, including baselines related
to methane in groundwater and fugitive emissions, and subsequent
monitoring requirements must be completed as soon as possible
and the findings used to inform fracking permits and permissions.
(Paragraph 66)
7. The UK has complex
geology and more effort is required to understand and map specific
local geological conditions and the influence of historic mining
activity. (Paragraph 67)
8. Fracking must be
prohibited outright in protected and nationally important areas
including National Parks, the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural
Beauty, Sites of Special Scientific Interest and ancient woodland,
and any land functionally linked to these areas. (Paragraph 68)
9. Venting of methane
emissions is not acceptable. Full containment of methane must
be mandated in all fracking permits and permissions. (Paragraph
69)
10. It is crucial
that groundwater is protected and the restriction on fracking
in water source protection zones 1 is welcome. However, fracking
should be prohibited in all source protection zones and all fracking
activity must require a groundwater permit when wells extend under
aquifers. A minimum vertical separation distance between shales
being fracked and a groundwater aquifer should be defined and
mandated. (Paragraph 70)
11. There must be
clear and accessible public disclosure on the chemicals used in
the exploration and production of shale gas, and the risks they
potentially pose. (Paragraph 71)
12. Automatic right
of access to "deep level land" is not supported by the
majority of the public and is not considered necessary by the
industry. It should be removed from the Infrastructure Bill. (Paragraph
72)
13. Changes to the
regulatory system identified above, though essential, do not address
the fundamental need for a more coherent and more joined-up regulatory
system, and one that needs to be put in place before further fracking
activity in contemplated. First, the Strategic Environmental Assessment
of the Licensing Rounds, Environmental Impact Assessments, planning
and permit appraisals must all consider the cumulative impacts
of fracking. Second, environmental impact assessment must be mandated
for all fracking activity. Third, attention must be paid to the
way in which the industry and the risks might scale up. There
is the prospect that a regulatory regime for operational extraction
would be applied without the same rigour that had been applied
to the exploration phase. It is important that the necessary regulatory
arrangements are determined and in place prior to the expansion
of the industry. Finally, there should be a consolidated regulatory
regime specifically for fracking. (Paragraph 73)
14. We welcome the
Environment Agency's inclusion of mandatory conditions for baseline
monitoring in the draft permits for the two sites currently pending
planning permission. Mandatory baselines and continued monitoring,
covering all relevant indicators, must be conducted. (Paragraph
74)
15. It is unacceptable
that there are no monitoring requirements for abandoned wells
and this should be remedied immediately. We agree with the Environment
Agency that it is "essential that [commercial operators]
take responsibility for their work" and conduct their own
monitoring "in accordance with the standards that are set
in [the Environment Agency's] monitoring certification scheme",
and welcome the Agency's recognition of the "the desirability
of some independent monitoring at this stage of the industry's
development." Monitoring by the commercial operator should
be supplemented with such independent monitoring in all cases
to increase public confidence in the results. The regulators must
conduct regular unannounced spot checks and audits of all fracking
sites, and facilitate a clear and accessible public disclosure
of all monitoring data. (Paragraph 75)
16. It is imperative
that commercial operators have sufficient resources and insurance
to cover full liability in the event of a pollution incident.
Licences, permits and permissions must not be issued if this cannot
be demonstrated. We welcome the industry's efforts to develop
an insurance mechanism: this must be in place in advance of any
fracking activity. (Paragraph 76)
17. Public acceptance—what
Tom Burke called a 'social licence'—is critical in determining
whether fracking should continue in the UK. We can envisage the
development of a regulatory regime fit for the purpose of fracking
but we are unable to see at this stage how the crucial 'social
licence' can be established when the debate around fracking is
so polarised. The openness of all involved is vital. Publishing
only a redacted report on Shale Gas Rural Economy Impacts has
not been helpful in this regard. We asked Defra for an un-redacted
version of the report during our inquiry, and this should now
be published as soon as possible. The Government and industry
must be transparent and make publicly available all other information
relating to fracking as a matter of course. (Paragraph 79)
18. This proposed
change in trespass law has serious implications for citizens'
rights which could unnecessarily undermine the democratic process
for objecting to development. On this issue, the public have spoken
and the Government must listen. (Paragraph 80)
19. The Government
must fully engage with the work of the Task Force [on Shale Gas]
on the climate change and environmental risks, and await its findings
before proceeding further with fracking in the UK. We called for
a moratorium on fracking because it cannot be accommodated within
our climate change obligations. A halt is also needed on environmental
grounds, and it is essential that further independent studies
into the impacts of fracking in the UK are completed to help resolve
the environmental risk uncertainties. It is vital that the precautionary
principle is applied. Until uncertainties are fully resolved,
and the required regulatory and monitoring system improvements
we identify are introduced, there should also be a moratorium
on the extraction of unconventional gas through fracking on environmental
grounds. (Paragraph 83)
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