Victoria's Green Matters - Thursday 13th October 2016

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury:

What a disaster! The decision by the communities’ secretary, Sajid Javid, to overturn Lancashire County Council’s rejection of fracking in our green and pleasant land has surely opened the flood gates for shale gas to be produced in this country.

‘Preston New Road Action Group’ had campaigned vigorously against fracking in this area of Lancashire close to the Fylde coast and within sight of Blackpool Tower. They had convinced Lancashire County Council to turn down the application by fracking company Cuadrilla but the company lodged an appeal and it was upheld. The action group are devastated and commented that it feels that the government neither listens nor can be trusted to do the right thing for local communities.
This decision comes a day after the Paris agreement passed the threshold for ratification. The agreement, signed by the UK, requires countries to phase out fossil fuels completely later this century. The government’s own statutory climate advisers had concluded in a report in July that fracking would break the UK’s carbon targets but this was not considered for Cuadrilla’s appeal. Amazingly, it was thought that shale gas and its relation to the Paris agreement was for future national policy – how can it possibly not matter now?

It is worth noting that fracking, which is climate polluting, gets government backing while overlooking local decisions and with incentives to local people while on shore wind, proven to be low cost and low carbon gets nothing.

Be assured, shale gas will not lower fuel bills.
Victoria Nicholls. Transition Deal.