Widespread concerns about climate change targets have forced the government to abandon plans to fast-track fracking in the UK on Monday.
A committee of MPs said plans should be put on hold as it would pose 'significant environmental risks' to public health.
"Ultimately fracking cannot be compatible with our long-term commitments to cut climate changing emissions unless full-scale carbon capture and storage technology is rolled out rapidly, which currently looks unlikely," Joan Walley MP, chair of the Committee said.
"There are also huge uncertainties around the impact that fracking could have on water supplies, air quality and public health."
"We cannot allow Britain’s national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty to be developed into oil and gas fields. Even if a national moratorium on shale drilling in the UK is not accepted there should be an outright ban on fracking in such special sites.”
"The Government is trying to rush through changes to the trespass laws that would allow companies to frack under people’s homes without permission. This is profoundly undemocratic and Parliament should protect the rights of citizens by throwing these changes out when they are debated later today."
The report warns that only a very small fraction of our shale reserves can be safely burned if we are to keep global temperatures below 2 degrees.
And that considerable uncertainties remain about the hazards fracking poses to groundwater quality, air quality, health and biodiversity.
It points out that continually tightening carbon budgets under the Climate Change Act will have significantly curtailed the scope for fossil fuel energy by the time shale gas is likely to be commercially viable on a large scale.
Shale gas and oil is found in shale rock several hundred metres below the surface which requires a special technique known as hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’ to extract it. Drilling companies need a licence from the Crown to prospect for and extract oil and gas, but they also need to negotiate rights of access to and licences to establish a well head from the landowner on whose land the well head is to be established.
Could UK farmers can meet global demand with shale gas?
"By giving the go-ahead for the development of natural gas from shale, fertiliser producers will be able to stabilise their production costs and ultimately allow UK farmers to meet increased global demand for food," North West Energy Task Force said.
Debbie Baker, a spokesperson from GrowHow, the UK’s only remaining primary nitrogen fertiliser producer, said: “As gas is our primary raw material it determines our sustainability as a business. Over the long term, we believe shale gas can help retain UK fertiliser production and has the potential to improve future energy and food security in the UK.”
But CLA President Henry Robinson said: "No assurances have been given to land and property owners that they are fully protected from losses or claims for damages should issues arise.
"Oil and gas operator interest in the land is relatively short term and there seems to be little protection for landowners should problems occur when operators become insolvent or are no longer in business decades down the line.
“This is a vitally important issue that must be addressed before development continues further. The Government may believe that the risks posed are low and that regulation is robust, but this is a new sector in the UK which is expected to expand rapidly, and worryingly significant unknowns remain."
The Britsh Geological Survey (BGS) released a report on the potential for shale oil and gas extraction in Scotland, specifically the Midland Valley in Central Scotland.
Up until now the fracking threat in Scotland has been mainly from two coal based extraction methods: Coal Bed Methane (CBM) and Underground Coal Gasification (UCG). CBM exploration has so far centred around Airth in the Midland Valley and Canonbie on the border with England, while UCG licensing has been just offshore in the Firth of Forth from Kincardine down to Largo Bay, as well as the Solway Firth.
"The difficulties involved in scrapping the bottom of the fossil fuel barrel mean that only a small percentage of these unconventional resources can be extracted," Anti-fracking campaign group 'Frack Off' said.
"A recovery factor of 4 percent (or potentially much less) is typical from experience in the US, though values of 10 percent or more are often hyped. For a 4 percent factor the BGS estimate would mean 176 million barrels (only 4 months of UK consumption)."
In the US, the impact of shale has already turned around decades of decline in the local fertiliser industry, allowing it to compete with cheap international energy supplies in the Middle East and Africa. A recent report also found that the US shale gas revolution has boosted confidence right across the petrochemical industry, with $15 billion expected to be invested across the sector by 2017. By 2017, experts expect the US to be entirely self-sufficient in urea.
The policy paper was written by the North West Energy Task Force, a pro-shale gas group supported by 500 businesses, geoscientists, academic economists and engineers.
Analysis by the Task Force suggests that without increased supply of fertilisers, the world is likely to face a food crisis. The paper points to a report by the United Nations, which says that fertilisers are essential for feeding half of the world’s population and that they will “fundamental to ensure global food security over the 21st century.”
In addition to boosting food security through a stabilisation of fertiliser costs, natural gas from Lancashire shale could help to cut harmful methane emissions from cattle. The NWETF paper says that without fertilisers, the “world would need an extra five billion cattle grazing 20 billion acres of extra pasture to produce the same number of calories.”
In previous years, the UN has said that the world’s rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife and account for nearly 15% of all human-caused greenhouse gases.
Farming is an important part of the North West of England’s economy, supporting 30,000 jobs and contributing £700 million annually to the local economy. This latest policy paper by the Task Force says that natural gas from Lancashire’s shale could help farming to remain an important part of the North West of England’s economy.
While there have been stories of poor operational practices in the United States, the Task Force says that these are not going to be replicated here in the UK due to our strong health, safety and environmental regulations. The Task Force also points to a recent paper by the Royal Society and the Royal Academy for Engineering, which said the “upward flow of fluids from the zone of shale gas extraction to overlying aquifers via fractures in the intervening strata is highly unlikely.”
Jack Wright, a Lancashire-based farmer who lives close to a shale gas operations site, said: “I think we should just get on with it. I believe this can be done safely and responsibly. I am, however, concerned about energy security and think we should maximise all energy resources, including shale gas and renewables.”
Tim Laycock, a Lancashire resident and farmer, said: “We must ensure that any shale gas operations are carried out with due regard to the localised environment. But with winter nearly upon us, I am concerned about the possibility of future blackouts and power shortages. I believe that shale gas – alongside renewable energy sources like solar and wind - can make an important difference in the future. We have a national responsibility to keep the lights on.”
