Councillor blasts SNP
Wark laments jobs losses
A Rutherglen councillor has lambasted the Scottish Government for failure to allow fracking.
The Scottish Government announced two weeks ago that it would not permit the extraction of shale oil and gas anywhere in Scotland.
But Councillor Jared Wark says the benefits for an area with a high percentage of people living in deprivation could be farreaching.
Pointing to the Independent Expert Scientific Panel’s report on unconventional oil and gas, the Conservative councillor said evidence suggests the challenges facing the safe extraction of shale gas are not insurmountable.
He said: “I am disappointed the SNP government has closedoff something that could bring significant benefits to Rutherglen.
“It is a short-sighted and economically damaging Scottish Government’s own scientists, the extraction of shale from Scotland, with the right safety checks, could be done safely.
“It could support thousands of jobs and deliver economic benefits to communities including Rutherglen.
“With the struggles the North Sea is facing, there could hardly be a better possibility off while other parts of the world press ahead with fracking.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The Scottish Government has undertaken one of the most far-reaching examinations of unconventional oil and gas ever carried out by any government. Indeed, our evidence-led approach to unconventional oil and gas underlines the value the Scottish Government places on robust science.
“We listened to views from all sides of the debate, and carefully scrutinised the evidence and we have concluded that there is no social licence for supporting the activity in Scotland and the mitigation of significant additional greenhouse gas emissions would prove very challenging, even if well regulated.
“In terms of its potential economic impact, KPMG’s economic analysis makes clear that, in the central production scenario, at peak, the industry might have a total impact, of up to 1,400 full-time jobs, including indirect, supply