Fracking will prevent UK meeting climate targets

Fracking will cause the UK to miss its climate change targets unless the sector is more strictly regulated, according to a new report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC). The government responded by rejecting the prospect of further legal controls, suggesting that current arrangements are “adaptive”. The CCC report also called for the fracking industry to ensure that leaks of methane are minimised. The report also argued that shale gas should be a replacement for imported gas and not an addition to it. Finally, it recommended emissions from the gas needed to be offset by carbon cuts in other sectors. The CCC also called for a single regulator to oversee the industry.

The Committee’s report ‘The compatibility of UK onshore petroleum with meeting the UK’s carbon budgets’ is the result of a new duty under the Infrastructure Act 2015. This duty requires the CCC to advise the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change about the implications of exploitation of onshore petroleum, including shale gas, for meeting UK carbon budgets.

The CCC’s report finds that the implications of UK shale gas exploitation for greenhouse gas emissions are subject to considerable uncertainty – from the size of any future industry to the potential emissions footprint of shale gas production. It also finds that exploitation of shale gas on a significant scale is not compatible with UK carbon budgets, or the 2050 commitment to reduce emissions by at least 80%, unless three tests are satisfied.

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