FEARS that controversial underground coal gasification (UCG) could take place across a 128 square mile area of Warwickshire have been reignited after the Government reversed its 2019 ban.
The county’s only Labour MP has launched a petition against fracking and UCG, warning companies could return with plans to extract gas and oil in the county.
Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western’s petition calls for regional councils to rule out future fracking or UCG, for which there were previous plans in Warwickshire.
The British Geological Survey has previously classified a 128 square mile area between Leamington, Coventry and Rugby as suitable for UCG.
The petition, which has gained more than 1,300 signatures in the first 12 hours, also calls for the Government to reintroduce a national ban on fracking.
Mr Western said: “Fracking and UCG will not help reduce energy prices nor will they increase supply in any notable way.
“They will, however, damage the environment and local communities – and fracking is also known to cause earthquakes.
“Instead of extracting fossil fuels, the Government should be investing in wind, particularly onshore, and solar energy – which are the cheapest and cleanest forms available to us and would significantly reduce domestic bills.
“Fracking is dirty, damaging and undemocratic. UCG is similarly worrying to environmental experts.
“No doubt I’ll be the only Warwickshire MP to oppose these practices.”
He called on Warwickshire’s four Conservative MPs to ‘take a principled stand’ and speak out against fracking.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a method of extracting gas and oil from shale rock which involves drilling into the earth to release gas.
It has been a controversial subject within UK communities and among MPs due to its association with minor earthquakes.
Alongside the announcement on Thursday (September 22), the Government published a new review from the British Geological Survey (BGS) which concludes: “Forecasting the occurrence of large earthquakes remains a scientific challenge for the geoscience community.”
UCG, which involves similar methods of drilling to release gases, is also criticised due to the risk of polluting water supplies and huge carbon emissions.
Earlier this year, new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng told the Daily Mail: “Even if we lifted the fracking moratorium tomorrow, it would take up to a decade to extract sufficient volumes – and it would come at a high cost for communities and our precious countryside.”
Countryside charity CPRE’s Warwickshire branch said giving fracking the green light was a ‘hideous mistake’.
Director of Campaigns and Policy Tom Fyans said: “Even if we were to go full steam ahead, which nobody wants, it wouldn’t make a dent on the cost of energy anytime soon, or ever.
“Any move to industrialise the countryside and belch yet more fumes into our carbon-soaked atmosphere will prompt a furious response from local communities, drawn out planning delays and nationwide protests.
“Proposals to offer local people discounts on their bills in exchange for environmental destruction on their doorsteps need to be seen for what they are – a feeble attempt to bribe vulnerable rural communities to accept an unpopular, unsafe and polluting activity that will destroy their tranquility.
“The answer to the fossil fuel price crisis is to reduce usage with a mass insulation drive, alongside a clean energy sprint. There has never been a better time to transform our energy infrastructure to ensure a future of abundant green power.
“Renewables are around nine times cheaper and far quicker to plug in than any alternative. Families facing the biggest drop in living standards on record need renewable energy. And it needs it to happen fast.”
West Midlands Friends of the Earth campaigner, Chris Crean, said: “Fracking is by far the most unpopular and least effective way of generating energy in the UK and has been opposed by communities wherever it has been attempted.
“Any attempt to water down the rules that help safeguard people from the threat of fracking will only fuel its unpopularity.
“If Liz Truss wants to build a strong economy for the future, she should champion home insulation and the UK’s plentiful renewable resources. They are cheap, quick to develop and are popular with the public.”
The charity has published a briefing that analyses the potential impacts of fracking on energy security, energy bills, earthquakes, water contamination, public health and jobs. Visit https://campaigning.friendsoftheearth.uk/briefings/fracking-england-faqs for more.
Visit https://mattwestern.org/campaign/keep-your-fracking-hands-off-warwickshire/#wpcf7-f164-p13952-o1 to sign the petition.
Rugby’s Conservative MP Mark Pawsey has been approached for comment.
