No fracking licences to be granted in Scotland says minister

No licences or planning permissions will be granted for the controversial practice of fracking as it is not compatible with dealing with the climate emergency, the Scottish Government announced yesterday. After months of delay, the government confirmed its “final policy position” and said fracking will receive no support, However, despite being pushed by opposition parties for an outright ban, energy minister Paul Wheelhouse said it’s “not necessary at this time”. Two years ago Mr Wheelhouse announced an “effective ban” on fracking in Scotland, but judges found this had no legal force after a court challenge was brought by petrochemical giant Ineos. Yesterday he told MSPS the government had come to its final position after “a comprehensive period of evidencegathering and consultation”. As a result the Scottish Government will not issue licences for new unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction techniques and that Scotland’s planning framework would also not support fracking. Mr Wheelhouse said: “The Scottish Government’s final policy position is that we do not support the development of unconventional oil and gas – often known as fracking - in Scotland. That decision followed consideration of many factors including the significant negative effects that UOG development could have on our natural environment and the health and wellbeing of communities, while bearing in mind the overwhelming feedback from the public that this should not be permitted in Scotland. “After a comprehensive evidence-gathering exercise, we have concluded that the development of onshore unconventional oil and gas is incompatible with our policies on climate change, energy transition and the decarbonisation of our economy”. He said that as fracking could only happen if licences were issued, the government did not intend to issue any. “To put this into immediate effect, the chief planner has today written to planning authorities across Scotland, stating our finalised policy and confirming that a new direction is being issued in respect of this policy”. Labour and Green opposition parties welcomed the announcement but Mark Ruskell MSP said more still needed to be done, and that the government should reject an application by Ineos “to exploit gas in the Forth Valley where “communities have lived under the shadow of a Coal Bed Methane development since 2012”. that would he said “bring years of uncertainty to an end”.

However Scottish Tory energy spokesman Alexander Burnett said the position showed the “hypocrisy of the SNP” who continued to import shale gas from across the Atlantic.