Shale gas fracking should go ahead in UK - Taskforce
The Guardian reported that fracking for shale gas in the UK should be pursued as an alternative to the use of coal, a taskforce on the controversial technology has concluded, in order to provide a bridge to a low-carbon future.
According to the chairman of the taskforce, former Labour cabinet minister Mr Lord Smith, but shale gas should not receive public subsidy or tax breaks, and the tax revenues arising from its exploitation should be redeployed to develop renewable energy and other low-carbon innovations.
He said that “I can’t see any reason why the shale industry needs tax breaks. If the gas is there and is recoverable and that’s still a big ‘if’ the industry can derive revenue from extracting it.”
He said that “Shale gas is not the answer to climate change. That is a mixture of renewables, nuclear and energy efficiency and other low-carbon sources of energy. But we can’t simply wave a magic wand and say that will happen tomorrow. Shale gas provides a bridge.”
The Task Force on Shale Gas, which is funded by the UK’s shale gas industry but operates independently, found that climate change targets could still be met even with an increase in the use of gas, which is less carbon-intensive than coal. When technologies known as ‘green completion’ are used, which means stopping the leaks of methane from shale wells, the fuel is no more carbon-intensive than conventional gas, and less so than imports of liquefied natural gas from countries such as Qatar.
But the report also found that if gas is to be used for another four decades, as envisaged by the group, then much more effort must be put into carbon capture and storage technologies. These have been problematic, as repeated attempts to set up UK pilot projects over the past decade have yet to produce a result. “The government must get a move on,” said Lord Smith. “I don’t think the reason for the slowness lies in problems with the technology. It is a lack of political will.”
Green campaigners warned, however, that if the UK were to pursue fracking, it would lead to an increase in net fossil fuel use. Tony Bosworth, energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “Three-quarters of known fossil fuel reserves need to stay in the ground if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change. Fracking in the UK would just add to this unburnable carbon, while also bringing risks for the environment and health of local communities. The taskforce doesn’t say if or how we will get others to produce less gas if we start fracking.”
Mr Chris Redston of Frack Free Ryedale, one of many local protest groups, said that “We are not surprised the taskforce recommends a future that depends on gas production from fracking, given that this consultation is being funded by the shale gas industry. It would be impossible for anyone to conclude that this report is in any way independent or impartial.”
The report also casts doubt on the ability of renewable sources of energy to be increased sufficiently to avoid an increasing dependence on importing gas into the UK.
Source : The Guardian