The ban on fracking we fought so hard and so long for is under threat.
Big oil and gas lobbyists will be celebrating with fracking aficionado Liz Truss in 10 Downing Street.
And with climate change denier Jacob Rees-Mogg now in charge of energy policy they must feel Christmas has come early.
But with people all over the country coming together to resist fracking, we won this fight before. We can surely do it again.
UK government: keep the fracking ban
Fracking is the process in which shale rock is blasted with a mix of water, sand and chemicals at high pressure to release gas.
The 2019 ban followed a series of earthquakes in Lancashire triggered by fracking in Cuadrilla’s exploration well. It was a huge relief for the communities nearby and those up and down the country.
But now the government is using the war in Ukraine and rising gas prices as an excuse to open up the industry again.
Fracking lobbyists saw their chance in this crisis and have been hard at work sweet talking climate-denying MPs -- and have been rewarded with one of their number in charge of the country’s energy policy.
But the only people who will benefit are the execs and shareholders of big oil and gas. Even the government’s own energy department agrees -- stating that any additional UK production won’t make any difference in gas prices.
Companies will sell it off to the highest bidder anyway, so it won’t even bring us lower energy bills.
Talk about capitalising on misery.
Keep the UK frack free
More information
Liz Truss ‘to lift fracking ban within days of becoming leader to boost UK energy supplies’
The Independent. 3 September 2022.
The Independent. 3 September 2022.
Record of climate denialism indicates how Rees-Mogg will handle energy brief,
The Guardian. 6 September 2022.
The Guardian. 6 September 2022.
IPCC report: ‘now or never’ if world is to stave off climate disaster
The Guardian. 5 April 2022.
The Guardian. 5 April 2022.