Helen Crow, RSPB Climate Change Policy Officer
We welcome the outcome of a vote in the European Parliament today recommending that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should be mandatory for the majority of unconventional oil and gas proposals, including all those using the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’).
Fracking involves injecting fracturing fluid at high pressure down a borehole into a shale rock formation or coal seam. The pressure causes fractures in the rock which are propped open by the sand in the fracking fluid, enabling gas to flow into the borehole.
Current European legislation covers natural gas projects that extract at least 500,000 cubic metres each day. Many unconventional gas projects yield less than this, due to the rock fracturing process, and hence are not currently subject to the requirement for an impact assessment. They still pose risks to the environment though – including the potential for water contamination and disturbance to species like Whooper swan which are sensitive to noise.
Today MEPs voted in favour of making this requirement mandatory, whatever the quantity extracted, for all exploration and exploitation of non-conventional hydrocarbons (shale gas and oil, coalbed methane, etc.), including shale gas projects, for the phase in which fracking is used.
This is fantastic news because impact assessments are an important tool for ensuring that the potential environmental impacts of a development are understood before planning permission is granted. They’re also important for making sure that the cumulative impacts of lots of developments in an area are taken into consideration.
Yet, this isn’t the end of the story. There are several stages to the process of making and amending directives at the European level. The vote today means that these proposals are taken forward to the next round of negotiation, and are one step close to becoming law. If this does happen, which we very much hope will be the case, we’ll be calling on the UK Government to bring the requirement into effect in the UK as quickly as possible.
Even if the environmental impacts can be reduced on (and under) the ground, it still remains to be shown whether pursuing a new fossil fuel industry in the UK is compatible with tackling climate change and protecting wildlife for the long term.