Institute responds to UK Government announcement that it intends to ban fracking

Responding to news that the Government intends to ban fracking, Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said: “The proposed new ban on fracking will just formalise the moratorium on fracking that was re-introduced by Rishi Sunak’s Government in 2022 after a report by the British Geological Survey concluded that it ‘can trigger earthquakes large enough to cause structural damage’.

“Although the exact extent of economically viable reserves of shale gas in the UK is not known with certainty, the most recent assessments suggest that there is unlikely to be enough to significantly affect international prices for natural gas, and so would not reduce prices for British consumers. Widescale burning of shale gas without carbon capture and storage technology would not be consistent with efforts to stop climate change. The best way for the UK to ensure sustainable, secure and affordable supplies of energy is through domestic clean generation from renewables and nuclear.”