Tag Archives: scottish liberal democrat spring c

Charles Dundas

Scotland’s choices on fracking

By Charles Dundas | Wed 2nd March 2016 - 10:45 am

Last week Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference debated lifting the moratorium on planning and licensing for unconventional oil and gas extraction.

It was an erudite debate, and I think that it is fair to summarise the argument in favour of lifting the moratorium as follows:

Liberals believe in evidence-based policy making and the scientific method.
The moratorium was put in place to allow an independent expert scientific panel to examine how unconventional oil and gas extraction could work in Scotland.
Just such a panel published a report in July 2014.
The experts say “The technology exists to allow the safe extraction of such reserves, subject to robust regulation being in place” and “There could be minimal impact from unconventional hydrocarbons if they are used as a petrochemical feedstock.”
Therefore the moratorium has served its purpose and should now be lifted. To maintain it, in the face of scientific evidence, would be a cynical politically-motivated move.

However, it is worth remembering that the 2014 Independent Report was a large document and the two sentences quoted do not cover its complete findings. In fact the quote “There could be minimal impact from unconventional hydrocarbons if they are used as a petrochemical feedstock” is immediately preceded by “The impact of unconventional oil and gas resources in Scotland on the Scottish Government’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gases is not definitive,” and immediately followed by “…but lifecycle analysis of an unconventional hydrocarbon industry is required to inform the debate, and provide a clearer view on the impact of their development.”

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged and | 25 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Roland
    @Simon - “ Income taxes are lower on the Isle of Man because the cost of living on a small island is significantly higher than living in the UK” I...
  • David Raw
    Interesting that several prominent British high-net-worth individuals and billionaires have, over the years, relocated to the Isle of Man to take advantage of i...
  • Paul WalterPaul Walter
    Peter, I think this debate has run out of steam. I would just say the word “climate” to you, in relation to the Isles of Scilly, having been there many t...
  • Paul WalterPaul Walter
    @Simon Costain: “The NSC - home of Manx team playing UK league football FC Isle of Man - whilst not huge is a sports centre.” Thank you, Simon. I stand cor...
  • Dennis Delice
    This article, highlighting the importance of our party having a solid stance on AI, could not have been more important and timely....