Responding to DECC's proposals for the new shale gas licensing round, Greenpeace Energy Campaigner Anna Jones said:
"Michael Fallon is desperate to put a positive spin on this report, but what it actually shows is that the Government wants to open two thirds of England up to fracking, with all the associated risks. Enough waste water to fill 40,000 Olympic sized swimming pools could be created, and tiny villages could experience up to 50 truck movements per day. Fallon has also ignored the report’s lower jobs estimate, which is just 2,500.
"There’s no public mandate for this industrialisation of the English countryside and for digging up new forms of fossil fuels. With even the fracking companies admitting UK shale won’t bring down bills, and the community sweeteners being described as “crumbs off the table” by MPs in affected areas, you can understand why opposition is growing across the country. The Government has a fight on its hands.
"Real energy security in the UK can only be achieved through clean renewable sources and energy efficiency. Fracking is a dangerous distraction."
