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The Green Party has accused the government of having a “creepily cosy” relationship with shale gas developers after emails unearthed by Greenpeace showed government officials have collaborated with the companies in their public relations work.
Green MP Caroline Lucas accused the government of “cheerleading for fracking”.
“Apparently it’s not enough to give fracking companies generous tax breaks, the government also has to help them with their PR. Instead of cheerleading for fracking, the government should be working with community and renewable energy to move us towards a low carbon future,” Lucas said.
Among emails made public under the Freedom of Information Act was one in which the government assured the shale developers’ body UK Onshore Operators’ Group (UKOOG) that regulation did not need to be tightened.
Writing ahead of a Public Health England review of the health and environmental impact of shale gas production through hydraulic fracturing (fracking) a Decc official wrote: “We are confident that there is robust appropriate regulation in the UK to ensure safe operations that minimize impacts to human health.”
Greenpeace energy campaigner, Lawrence Carter, who issued the Freedom of Information request to DECC, said of the government and shale gas industry: “the evidence is piling up that they’re all in it together.”
Officials have claimed their discussions were “right and proper”, according to The Guardian.
Prime minister David Cameron last week announced financial incentives for councils and local communities, to accommodate fracking saying the UK was going “all out for shale”.
Meanwhile oil giant BP warned that shale gas’ contribution in Europe would be “very marginal”.
BP’s chief economist, Christof Rühl, said shale production in Europe would be “very marginal” up to 2035 and predicted it “only kicks in towards the end of that period”.
Speaking at the launch of BP’s World Energy Outlook 2035, which predicts trends in world energy markets, Rühl said that the political implications of “massive infrastructure constraints in terms of drilling rigs and transport” meant that shale gas development in Europe would emerge “only on a limited scale”.
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