Don't frack nature's home

You wait months for a blog, and rather like buses, two come along at once! You may have heard our fracking report mentioned on the news today, we are also currently encouraging our supporters to write in to a Government consultation on this issue and I thought the Nature's Heroes community might want to get involved.

Despite the Government’s best efforts to win over our hearts and minds we, like many other organisations, individuals and communities, remain unconvinced that the proposed benefits of fracking for shale gas outweigh the potential risks.

Today we have published a report, in conjunction with other conservation charities, that questions whether the UK is as ‘Fit to Frack’ as the Government would have us believe. Here’s our Conservation Director, Martin Harper, blogging about it earlier today.

The Government’s own environmental report fails to answer serious questions about the effects expansion of the shale gas industry might have on our wildlife, climate and environment. But in spite of this, and the risks to our legally-binding climate change targets, the Government is pushing ahead this year with plans to offer two thirds of Great Britain up for licensing bids from the industry.

Even protected sites, the jewels in our natural crown, will be included in this licensing round.

Alongside protecting vulnerable habitats and providing a home for our most important wildlife, protected areas are important for our own health and well-being, giving us space to breathe and reconnect with our natural heritage.

The Government is currently consulting on an environmental assessment report that will guide and inform the decisions they take in the upcoming licensing round, and they welcome views from interested parties and the general public.

Please make a submission to the consultation, by 28 March, putting into your own words why protected areas are important to you and why they shouldn’t be opened up to fracking.

Key points you might like to include:

• Protected areas are vital for wildlife and for people; because of the risks of habitat destruction and disturbance they should not be included in the licensing areas.
• In the face of so much uncertainty the government should take a cautious approach, licensing only a limited number of sites and monitoring them carefully for potential impacts on people and wildlife.
• The Government needs to guarantee that adequate inspection and monitoring will be enforced, especially in light of continuing budget cuts to local authorities and regulatory bodies.
• The Government needs to clearly demonstrate how fracking will not undermine the UK’s ability to meet its legally binding climate change targets and its commitment to avoiding dangerous levels of climate change.

You can write to the consultation at: Oil and Gas Policy Unit, Department of Energy and Climate Change, Area 3B, 3 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2AW. Alternatively email your response to ogSEA@decc.gsi.gov.uk

Please send copies of your letters and any replies to Kim Matthews, Parliamentary Campaigns Officer, Don’t Frack Nature’s Home Campaign, RSPB, The Lodge, FREEPOST ANG6335, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2BR. Alternatively, email us at campaigns@rspb.org.uk.

 Thanks for all your support, together we can really make a difference.